Hunter of the Rings

Chapter 4

Mirroring the previous day, the early morning arrived far too soon for young Maddie Hunter. She was still enjoying her time in the land of sleep before she felt someone gently grasp her shoulder as shake her in an attempt to awake her. To the girl's annoyance, the attempt was a success. Slowly and with great reluctance, Maddie opened her eyes, blinking a multiple of times to clear her blurry vision from the streaming sun. Crouched down next to her was a very clean and well-dressed Aragorn; he had clearly been awake for much longer and taken the opportunity to bathe and change. "Sorry to wake you, but I have to go to the council meeting" the ranger explained as he sent her a gentle smile "and I was wondering if you wanted to come and meet a few new people?" he questioned. Taking a moment to allow her sleepy brain to process the suggestion, Maddie couldn't help but smirk "will Arwen be there?" she asked mischievously. Aragorn chuckled as he shook his head at the familiar behaviour; the teenager had already spent far too much time with the dwarf and elf they had travelled with. "She will, but no repeating any of what Gimli and Legolas told you" the man warned as she stood up from the sofa, stretching her limbs in the process before retying her hair up with the blue ribbon. "No promises" Maddie teased. The pair of them laughed with one another as they left the bed chambers and began to make their way through many halls; Maddie couldn't help but stare at her surroundings as she passed them. The sights she was greeted with were all amazing and beautiful! It now came to no surprise that her parents wanted to journey to Rivendell. Within only a few minutes, they reached two tall and grand doors that were opened for them by two elves; it was inside that the teenager noticed the many people already there, seeming to be waiting. There was Gandalf, Gimli and Legolas who each sent her a smile, as well as a middle aged man, an elf and a seemingly younger she elf. A wave of anxiety washed over Maddie as she made sure to remain behind the ranger as an attempt to hide herself somewhat.

"My apologies for the delay, I overslept" Aragorn excused with a respectful bow of his head; the male elf sent him a firm yet kind nod in return "it is fine Aragorn" he assured, beginning to explain how they were just about to start their meeting before seeming to become distracted. "Aragorn...who, may I ask, is the young child behind you?" he asked. All eyes were already on the teenager, much to Maddie's distaste. While she was receiving a series of smiling faces, she was also seeing extremely confused ones too. "I'd like to introduce you to Maddie Hunter" Aragorn placed a gentle and comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as he explained how he, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli had met her on their travels and had invited her to join them, to which she had obviously accepted. Glancing down to the teenager, Aragorn gently pushed her to stand beside him "come on, they won't bite" he reassured; Maddie forced out a small shy smile, but it was more than plain to see that she was uncomfortable and nervous. The beautiful she elf felt sympathetic for the young girl and rose from her seat; she approached the two before coming to stop there. "It is good to meet you, Maddie" she smiled, quickly reassuring that there was no reason to be weary as she was completely safe "we are all friends here". With her anxiety slowly lowering, Maddie was able to send the she-elf a more genuine smile as she nodded in understanding, though she glanced over towards Legolas and Gimli "even those two?" she questioned with a grin. They each chuckled at the joke before continuing the introductions. "You've already met Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli and Legolas" she stated before revealing herself to be Arwen "that over there is my father and Lord of Rivendell, Elrond" she motioned towards the elf before waving towards the other man "and that there is Boromir, son of Denethor". Following Aragorn's steps, Maddie bowed her head to the three "it's nice to meet you all" she commented; Elrond returned the kind gesture with his own welcoming smile as he spoke "likewise Maddie" before motioning for them to all take a seat. Maddie, feeling a sense of relief to have all of that over with, gladly followed Arwen as she guided her to a seat with the ranger in tow.

Everyone's attention turned to Lord Elrond as he rose from his seat "strangers from distant lands, friends of old" he began, explaining how they had been summoned to answer the threat of Mordor "Middle Earth stands on the brink of destruction and no one can escape it" he announced, glancing around at the seated guests as they reacted to the news "you will unite or you will fall". Maddie felt the atmosphere within the open room change from calm to tense within the matter of a few seconds; she looked to her newfound friends to see their faces stern and serious. "Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom" Lord Elrond was interrupted, however, as Gimli requested he stop talking in riddles; the teenager bit back her amused laughter as the lord elf breathed out his annoyance with the dwarf, remaining as patient as he could "you will have all noticed that orcs from Mordor had been scouring the lands, their numbers increasing day by day" he stated. He wasn't wrong. They had all had to fight and defend themselves against a pack of orcs on their travels to reach Rivendell, some even more than once. "The reason for this is...Sauron has regained his strength and awoken, therefore so has the one Ring" the elf announced, alarming the entire room as whispers and gasps could be heard throughout; Maddie glanced around in confusion, having never heard of this Sauron person, but felt herself grow concerned as she noticed the wide and worry filled eyes around the room. She was certain, however, that she had heard of something called the One Ring, but couldn't quite pinpoint where from and how. "We must find the One Ring before Sauron does" the lord elf finished, only for the room to erupt with both questions and statements regarding where they were to look and how long they had; Maddie was startled by this and instinctively began to fidget with the thin gold chain around her neck, it being something she always did when nervous.