Hunter of the Rings

Chapter 2

The rain was strong and harsh as a storm attacked the small dark village. The group of three had journeyed through the many dirt streets as they looked around for the young barmaid, yet she was nowhere in sight. It was after they had been out for ten minutes and were completely drenched when something caught the ranger's attention. There was something, a figure of some kind, moving around down a nearby alley way. Startling his two companions, Aragorn came to an abrupt halt and forced them to do the same; they followed the man's staring gaze which is when they also noticed the dark figure. Slowing making their way closer, they each squinted their eyes to try to get a better look, only for it to hold no effect. "There a reason you've followed me out here?" a familiar voice suddenly called out. The three were taken by surprise as the figure stood up from the their place on the floor, turning around to face them. It was Maddie! Folding her arms across her chest as both a way to warm and defend herself, the young girl raised a brow "why were you kneeling on the floor in an alley way in the middle of a storm?" Gimli questioned, raising his voice to be heard over the forceful rain; the fifteen-year-old remained silent as she tried to pick at her brain for an excuse to the awaiting ears, but she mentally beat herself as nothing was coming to mind. "Em..." Maddie wasn't stupid; she could see they were waiting and expecting an answer. Letting out a sigh of defeat, the girl knew she had no choice "I...I was planning on sleeping here for the night" she revealed; Legolas glanced around at the location, merely asking why as he couldn't understand why on Middle Earth she would sleep out in such a terrible storm. It made no logical sense! Motioning towards the building beside them, Maddie simply mentioned how the roof covered a good two feet over the alley "so it should, at least, give me some cover from the rain" she reasoned. She spoke as if what she was saying was completely normal, yet all wide eyes stared at her in disbelief "what!? But why?!" Gimli questioned with a mixture of shock and confusion; Aragorn was the only one that managed to remain calm and collected as he fell into his own thoughts.

As the ranger was already beginning to piece the puzzle together, Legolas asked the obvious question of why the girl didn't return home to her parents "they must be worried sick about you" he reasoned. Averting her eyes down to the ground before her, Maddie slowly shook her head "I...I don't have a home" she finally revealed, tightening her grip on her arms as a wave of harsh winds pushed against her "or...or parents". Even through the storms rampage, all three were able to hear the confession; they each felt pang of guilt for having asked and pushed so much. No wonder she refused to speak about her parents back in the tavern. Glancing around at their surroundings, Gimli realized that the storm was growing worse and that there was not a soul to be seen; the villagers had been smart and retreated to their homes to avoid the storm's attack. Making a last minute decision, Aragorn removed his cloak as he approached the startled teenager and wrapped it around her shoulders; Maddie watched in confusion as he lifted the hood to cover her head "what are you doing?" she wondered, alarmed by the kind action. Having caught onto what the ranger was thinking and doing, both the elf and dwarf watched on with approval. "As you know, we're staying at The Prancing Pony" Aragorn reminded, earning a slow nod from the girl as she did indeed know this; she had prepared their room after all "and we want you to come stay with us" he requested. Taken back by his suggestion, Maddie instantly questioned why they would care about where she stayed; this more than confirmed that she wasn't used to people being kind to her, not unless she was working, and they wanted something in return. It made them wonder, how long had Maddie been without her parents? And what happened to them exactly? Were they dead? Did they abandon her? Did she even know who her parents were? So many questions, yet it was clear now wasn't the appropriate time to ask them.

"We want to help you, isn't that enough of a reason?" Aragorn questioned, only to earn him a look of doubt from the girl; he sighed as he figured she would need some convincing "you'll get a bed, a warm fire, a roof over your head" he explained, assuring her that they expected nothing in return. Watching the uncertain teenager thinking over his offer, Aragorn felt a spark ignite within him that told him he needed to protect this young child before him! "You'll be safe...but the choice is yours" he finished. To say Maddie was completely and utterly shocked would have been an understatement, not to mention suspicious. No one had ever given her an offer such as that. Sure, the owner of the tavern had given her a job but that gave him something in return. But with this offer, the group would gain nothing as far as Maddie could work out. Staring at the three vastly different people before her, Maddie couldn't detect even a hint of deception and she was usually pretty good at sensing when people were lying or weren't as good as they wished for her to believe. That had saved her quite a few times. Ever so slowly, the teenager finally began to nod her head "okay...thank you" she sent them a shy smile, to which was easily returned with looks of joy and relief. Not wasting another second standing in the vicious storm, Legolas led the group back towards The Prancing Pony; Maddie picked up her bag from the muddy ground before following, running besides Gimli who grumbled about his wet socks. They soon stepped through the doors to the tavern and hurried up the stairs where they reached their awaiting room. Once inside, Gandalf greeted his fellow travellers and the barmaid from the armchair by the fire "I'm glad you chose to join us, my dear" he stated before puffing on his pipe, earning a smile and thank you from the girl. They removed their drenched cloaks and outer clothes before laying them out to dry overnight. Maddie was left in her dress as she sat down on the floor in front of the fire, warming up her ice-cold hands; Legolas took a seat beside her while the others pulled up a stool and sat down to do the same.