THE HEART OF A HEALER
By Tangelian Proudfoot



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Authors Note:

I don't own any of the characters or places, they are all property of the Tolkien Estate, except for Tari, her horse Trifas and some minor characters over at the Prancing Pony, who were not mentioned in The Lord of the Rings. I don't make any money or profit whatsoever from my writing, I write simply because of my love of storytelling and the Lord of the Rings.

*Lots* of thanks and hugs to all of my proof readers!



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4. A Promise Given

When Tari awoke again, the storm had almost subsided. She realized that several hours must have passed. The rest of the company appeared to still be asleep, even Frodo. Tari lay quiet for a while, watching the others slowly wake. She was delighted to see that Frodo was the last one to wake up, and when he did, he stretched and yawned, looking well rested. The other hobbits didn't appear to be at all surprised that he had moved away, suggesting that it wasn't the first time they have seen him behave like this. It seemed to be a mutual understanding between them not to comment on the matter; even Pippin was quiet for a change.

As they sat down to take another cold meal before the departure, Frodo gave Tari a grateful look, and for a moment, she almost thought that he was going to say something. He was no longer shivering and a little colour had returned to his face. But as soon as he was certain that she had noticed and received the message, he turned away again determinedly. He remained silent, avoiding her eyes during the rest of their meal, and ate as little as before.

It was no longer raining, and the wind had almost died, but the horses were all miserable and wet. They had to dry them a bit, rubbing them with rags, before they would be able to put on their saddles. As usual, Trifas enjoyed the treatment tremendously, especially when Tari stroked his face and ears while she was humming softly. He was far from satisfied when she moved on to his neck and withers and demandingly nudged her on the back, rubbing his face against her shoulder. "Trifas!" she laughed, playfully grabbing one of his ears and rubbing it. "If I'd keep on doing that until youd got enough, we'd never get away!"

She stroked him a couple of times over the face before returning to his neck. Turning around, she was surprised to see Frodo turn around as well, quickly resuming rubbing his pony, suggesting that he had been observing her and hoped that she hadn't noticed.

***

As on the previous day, Tari was mostly riding with Gandalf, who resumed his tale from where he had been before Tari had asked him to skip ahead. She listened with great interest, but still she found it hard to concentrate at times, as she tried to catch some snatches from the hobbits conversations. They didnt talk much, and when they did, it mostly concerned their upcoming stay at the inn; the food, the ale, and sleeping in comfortable beds again after a long, hot bath. "I doubt we'll ever get there," Pippin sighed. "Feels like we haven't made any progress at all during the last days..."

"Well," Tari could hear Frodo say, "in fact we have. If we keep on riding till the sunset, and make an early start tomorrow, we'll reach Bree by tomorrow night, if not before."

Then he was silent again.

***

The hours slowly passed by, and the weather was progressively improving. The cold wind had almost died, and eventually the dark clouds burst, exposing the pale autumn sun.

They rode until darkness fell, when they finally stopped by an old, somewhat overgrown resting place in a glade rather close to the road. They were all very hungry, and soon a wonderful, warm fire roared in the middle of the glade. While Sam prepared the food, the rest of the company built up some stands where they could dry the blankets and the bedrolls for a while.

The hobbits ate with tremendous appetite as usual, except for Frodo, who barely touched his food. As the night before, he was the first to excuse himself and wish the others a good night. After taking down his bedroll and two blankets from the stand, he disappeared into the darkness.

The others soon followed Frodo's example, agreeing that theyd better rise as early as possible in the morning. Tari also fetched her bedroll and the blankets from the stand. She was amazed to find that they were almost dry. After a quick visit to Trifas, she started searching the ground for a suitable place to spend the night. But to be honest, she didn't feel tired at all. During her time with the company, she had slept more than she usually did for days. She was very well aware that she'd better continue at once on her own. Trifas was well rested, and if they started now and kept their usual speed, they would make it to Bree within a couple of hours. If she left a written message behind in which she explained her reasons, they would surely understand... and besides, it would save her from taking a very painful goodbye from the only people she had met for months who actually had been kind to her; treating her as an equal... But no... she couldn't do that. She couldnt just escape. She had chosen to get involved, and even though the subject of her concern was trying his best to avoid her, it was her moral duty to do everything in her power to try to help him, and even though her time was running out, their journey was far from over yet...

She sighed and looked out over the glade. The moon was a few days from full now, and the damp grass glittered like silver in its light. The air was chilled, but clear. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional snorts from the horses. Before she even realized what she was doing, Tari slowly walked up to the sleeping hobbits.

Merry and Pippin lay pretty close to each other, as usual, but Tari was surprised to see that Sam lay all by himself, and Frodo was nowhere to be seen. For a moment she was almost worried that the scenario from the morning was about to repeat itself, but eventually she spotted a bundle of blankets that lay several feet away from the others, almost hidden behind a bush.

It was clear why he had chosen this spot. It was just big enough to fit a hobbit-sized bedroll and the ground surrounding it was quite rough, with several rocks and bushes hiding it from view. No one would be able to get near him...

He shifted a little in his sleep, his face looking even paler in the moonlight. Tari sighed. "Oh Frodo..." she whispered, so quiet that it was hardly more than a movement of her lips. "If there was any way I could help you..."

She slowly turned around to walk back to the others, but had just taken a few steps when she heard a whimpering sound... Turning back again, she noticed that Frodo now was shifting uneasily in his sleep, obviously caught in a nightmare. For a second, she hesitated. Once again, shed better not act too hasty, especially considering the consequences of what had happened earlier...

But suddenly, Frodo started murmuring, and though Tari couldn't make out any words, it was clear that he was becoming more and more upset, his voice growing more and more high pitched. "NO!" he suddenly cried, thrashing so wildly that he stripped off his blankets.

Tari clenched her teeth, giving in to her compassion. In an instant she was kneeling beside him, letting her hand touch his cheek. "Frodo..." she said softly. "Frodo... wake up... it's just a nightmare..."

Frodo winced at her touch, and before she even knew what was happening, he sat up with a cry, grabbing her arm with both hands, panting. He clutched at her wrist with an almost remarkable strength, shuddering with fear, his eyes tightly shut.

"It's all right, Frodo," Tari repeated, sitting down beside him, carefully lifting her other hand, soothingly stroking his damp curls. "It was just a nightmare..."

Holding there for a moment, Frodo took a few deep breaths before he obviously returned to his old self again, slowly releasing Taris hand. "Yes..." he said in a voice not louder than a whisper. "I suppose it was... I'm sorry..."

He didnt withdraw from her touch though, so she continued stroking his hair gently. "Nothing to worry about," she said. "I was awake and heard you..."

"I... I see..."

"Are you all right?" Tari asked, gingerly placing her hand on Frodos hands again. "Can I get you anything?"

"Im alright, thank you... I don't want anything..." Frodo answered slowly. "Just- ..."

He was silent for a few moments, taking another couple of deep breaths. "Please..." he pledged, turning a little to look at her now with anxious eyes. "Don't... you won't tell the others about... this, will you? They've... they've got their own troubles, you know, and-..."

"Well of course not," Tari said, softly caressing his hands, trying to keep her voice from quivering. "Everything that has happened stays between us, and I would never tell anyone about it. You have my word..."

To her surprise she felt Frodo gently squeezing her fingers. "Thank you..." he whispered. "Thank you so much..."

After a few minutes Frodo's breathing had eased a little, but Tari could see that he was still shaken. She tried to transfer some comfort and calm to him, now when he didnt withdraw from her touch.

"Do you feel like you can go back to sleep now?" Tari asked, breaking the silence.

Frodo nodded a little. "Yes... I think I can try..."

"Would you like me to stay here for a while?" Tari asked carefully. "I wouldn't mind... and no one will find out..."

Frodo looked down, slowly gathering the blankets with one hand, leaving the other one in his lap, still softly touching Tari's. Before lying down, he nodded briefly. Tari could see he was fighting against the tears, and she had to use all her strength to keep her own eyes from spilling over. "It's all right..." she said, once again stroking his hair as he curled up on the bedroll.

Before he pulled up the blankets so that they almost covered his head, she noticed that he was wearing a beautiful necklace--a white gem, almost like a little star, hanging on a silver band. She was surprised she hadnt seen it before; it must have been hidden under his cloak... her intuition told her that it must have a special meaning to him, and that he probably always wore it...

She lay her hand on his forehead, letting it rest there for a brief moment, before stroking his curls again. "Sleep well," she whispered softly.

Within just a few moments Frodo's face relaxed, and he sank into a peaceful sleep. Tari stayed with him for hours, quietly studying his sleeping features, not even noticing that the rocks cut into her legs. Just before the first rays of the sun climbed over the horizon, she slowly rose, quietly walked over to the others and settled herself on her bedroll.


To be continued....