(A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! Here's chapter two—most of what happens in this chapter is based off of the movie and not the book, however. Hope you don't mind.)
Chapter Two: To the Buckleberry Ferry
Frodo stood and brushed himself off. Merry, Pippin, and Sam still lay in a pile after their long fall, laughing over a broken carrot. Frodo sighed and laughed too. Trust Merry and Pippin to get them into trouble!
The smile fell off of his face as he turned around to figure out where they were. There was something odd about this path…not in the trail itself, but in the air around the place. At the far end of the trail, the trees quivered ominously. Then, faintly, he heard hoofbeats.
Frodo whirled around and cried out to his friends, "Get off the trail!"
The group stopped laughing. They could feel it now, too. The four hobbits clamored across the road and scrambled down the bank, hearts beating rapidly. What they couldn't know as they huddled together under the tree roots was that the thing that hunted them was just as scared of them as they were of it.
ooooooooooooo
Number Six urged his horse reluctantly down the trail, glancing around nervously. There was a cracking sound and he visibly jumped, before realizing that his horse had just stepped on a dry twig. Six took a few calming breaths. Everything was okay. He was in a pretty forest, it was not too dark, and the hobbits were no where to be found.
Not that that was particularly a good thing, Six thought guiltily. If they didn't find the hobbits He was going to slaughter them. Well, metaphorically, of course. Still, there was just something about midget people that… well, that made him shiver. He'd once had a dream that he was being chased by thousands of midget people through a forest. He'd never thought of them in quite the same way since.
Suddenly there was the sound of leaves crackling, as if a bunch of squirrels were playing tag. Or (Six gulped) the sound of four maniacal little hobbits setting a trap for a poor, defenseless Nazgul.
Deep breaths. Deep, calming breaths. He was imagining things. Yes, that was it. Definitely imagining things. There was nothing on this trail at all… the sound he'd heard had just been the wind blowing the leaves… Deep, calming breaths…
Number Six continued forward, pointedly fixing his gaze straight ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something to his left move. Six froze. Hobbits… he smelled hobbits…
His horse tried to keep walking, but Six stopped it. What if they really had set a trap for him up ahead? He smothered a whimper. Abruptly he realized that the devious little creatures expected him to move forward into their trap! They were huddled over there under the bank—he could sense them! They were going to attack him, like in his dream!
Not if I get them first! Six thought to himself. Gathering up what little bravery he had, he got down off of his horse and went over to the ledge.
ooooooooooooo
The hobbits all held their breath as the figure in black leaned over the place where they were hiding and looked down at them. There was a moment of complete silence, and then…
Frodo's forehead creased in confusion. What was it doing? It almost sounded like it was making a sniffing noise—like the creature was smelling them out—but then, not quite. Still, what else could it be doing?
ooooooooooooo
Number Six was starting to hyperventilate. They were even worse then he'd thought! The midgets were sitting completely still, as if they were scared of him (probably just an act!) and what was worse—they had hairy feet! Just the sight of them nearly made Six gag. What were the creatures waiting for? Was their trap ready to spring? What should he do?
He was just starting to calm down and come to his senses when he saw them. Bugs! A spider skittered over one of the hobbits' shoulders. A big, hairy spider. A slimy creature with thousands of legs crawled up from the ground. Soon, more bugs joined them. Number Six tried to run away, but he was frozen to the spot.
The Hobbits, however, hadn't moved. But then, Six thought frantically, why should they? The bugs were probably their pets! What if this was their evil plan? They were going to set the bugs loose on him!
Deep breaths. Deep, calming breaths. He wasn't sure what he should do. What if when he moved, the bugs attacked? Distantly, he saw one of the hobbits move as if they were throwing something, but it didn't register. He was too fixated on the bugs. Should he try to run? Should he—AHH!
A loud crash sounded from some nearby bushes. Six decided he'd had all of the stress he could take. Faster then you could say "It's only a bag of vegetables!" He was on his horse and miles away.
ooooooooooooo
"That was a close one." Merry told his friends shakily, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Good thing it didn't see us."
ooooooooooooo
Number Three's horse reared as he tried to turn it, but he managed to stay on. He looked around. A moment ago, he could have sworn he'd seen a few short people to his right, but now there was nothing down there. They must have run.
He started in that direction, spurring his horse forward, and then—
What was he doing, again? Three shook his head. He'd have to go find one of the others and ask…
ooooooooooooo
Number One forced his horse to walk at a slow, majestic pace. Ahh, there was nothing better then riding silhouetted by the moonlight, your cape billowing around you. Unbeknownst to him, the hobbits watched him from some nearby trees. He didn't even glance in their direction, too caught up by his theatrics.
"I have to leave the Shire," Frodo murmured, "Sam and I have to get to Bree…"
"Right," Merry responded, thinking. Suddenly, he remembered—"The Buckleberry Ferry! Follow me."
The hobbits turned and ran… right into yet another Ringwraith.
ooooooooooooo
Number Eight drew up his horse in surprise as four midget people ran out of the brush and straight into his horse. He looked around, trying to keep his horse from accidentally stepping on them. One bumped against his leg, and then they all ran.
Finally, it struck him.
They were playing It-tag!
Eight grinned joyfully under his black hood. It'd been so long since anyone had wanted to play a game with him! What nice hobbits! Too bad he'd have to get the ring from them afterwards.
He galloped joyfully after them, and then noticed they were heading towards a river. Quite a few of them were already in the boat. Eight frowned. Hey… wasn't that against the rules? They couldn't just get into a boat and row away! They didn't give him a fair chance!
Still, there was at least one left on land. Considering that he, Eight, had the horse, and the hobbit was on foot, the Nazgul was sure he could catch up. Then they'd see who was It!
Eight rode hard, intent on the hobbit before him. The hobbit was running hard, and just before Number Eight could reach out and touch him, he made it to the river. The hobbits grabbed oars and hurriedly began paddling away.
Eight frowned, hurt. No fair! They cheated! They were just lucky he couldn't swim.
ooooooooooooo
"Well, did anyone see them? I sure didn't." Five sounded immensely disappointed. The Ringwraiths had gathered for a meeting at the heart of the forest. It had taken them a while to get together, because they had to search for Three, who had apparently gotten lost.
"I didn't even get a hint of them." One admitted, "It was a nice night though." He turned to Two. "How about you?"
"Hmm? What was the question?"
"Nevermind. Three, did you see anything?"
"See any what?"
"Hobbits?"
"What are they?"
"…Nevermind. What about you, Four?" When Four shook his head, One turned to Six. "And you?"
"Eem…" Six hesitated. What should he tell them? "I—Well, you see, there was—um. No. I didn't see anything. Just a few… squirrels…" Five and Seven gave him a suspicious look, but One continued.
"How about you, Seven?" Negative. "Eight? One moment… where's Eight?" At just that moment, Eight burst into the clearing, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. "Eight? Did you see the hobbits?"
"As a matter of fact, I did." After a moment, Eight added under his breath, "Dirty rotten bunch of cheaters…"
"And? What happened to them? Where'd they go?" Five demanded impatiently.
"They got in a boat and rowed off. Right in the middle of our game of Tag, too! Who does that? It wasn't fair." Eight sounded rather sulky. He sighed. "I guess it's okay though. They probably were mad at me for using a horse. I guess that might kind of be against the rules, too…" Eight looked thoughtful, "You know, I bet that was it. I forgive them. How rude of me…"
The other eight Nazgul just stared at him.
"What?" Eight asked curiously.
(A/N: Thank you all for reading :D I hoped you liked chapter two… I got up and watched this particular part of "Fellowship" when I wrote this, and I actually laughed! If you have free time, I'd recommend it… I don't think I'll ever think of that part quite the same way again.
Thanks again for reading! It'd be really nice if you would review and tell me what you thought. )
Hilary