Many months ago, Tearose stayed in Rivendell at the invitation of Lord Elrond and she was sent to a room in the Last Homely House, where she was introduced to Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, two young hobbits who were accompanying a small group eastward on a mission of the utmost secrecy.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Meriadoc and Pippin”, Tearose was polite but very curious about the young hobbits who seemed oblivious to any danger that they would encounter on their journey.

“Oh please, Tea, I’m Merry, and this is Pippin. All our friends call us those names, so you may as well also.” Merry was chuckling and had a michievous look about him. “Look, Pippin, she has an amazing crossbow. Will you look at that!”

Pippin and Merry spent some time examining Tearose’s weapons and they were more and more curious about her and what she had been up to. Tearose was very careful about what she said as Lord Elrond told her to keep quiet about recent happenings west of Rivendell.

For Lord Elrond did not wish to jeopardize the quest even though at first he had serious misgivings about sending Merry and Pippin. Elrond believed that if the hobbits knew that trouble had already started in the Shire, they would likely abandon the quest. And who could blame them?

The Shire was their beloved home, and Tearose would one day fight alongside Merry and Pippin to protect it, though she didn’t know it at the time. Until then, she kept a diary and wrote down every single detail of any suspicious visitor that she became aware of. Soon she forgot her injuries and all the horrors she had endured thus far, and focused on her quiet vigil in the Shire – listening, watching, waiting. And wondering when she would see Merry and Pippin again.

Bookmark:

Besides the usual creatures of the enemy such as wargs and crebain, parts of Mirkwood were infested with giant spiders, the likes of which Pareth had never seen before. The webs were so thick in some places that Pareth had to use her sword to cut through them. And they bit her but she was strong and mostly immune to the venomous poison.

Pareth killed many spiders in a place called the Scuttledells, and she was never more glad to be able to get out of the area without too much trouble. For there were far worse dangers in Mirkwood than spiders.

And a hunter with skills was in big demand and kept busy as Pareth knew only too well. She looked forward to her next break just like they all did in those days but any breaks were short, perhaps only long enough to replenish both sleep and supplies and no longer. For there was no end to the evil creatures sent by their vile master to stage an attack on Lothlorien. There were many lives sacrificed for the sake of the defence of Lothlorien, and the remaining elves sang sad songs of their fallen companions. Lothlorien would be safe for now.

Bookmark:

One evening not so long ago, Tearose returned from a mission in the Trollshaws. The area was infested with deadly rock worms and crawlers and they had become a menace.

Tearose killed many of the vile creatures using a new weapon that seemed appropriate for her small size. Tearose’s crossbow had slain many enemies but the hobbit hunter was getting weary of battle.

If the truth be told, Tearose was sad. She didn’t like death and destruction. Most hobbits with any sense would never even venture outside of the Shire, never mind try to battle the likes of the creatures who nearly killed Tearose – not once – but several times!

And Tearose was tired. Too tired even to feast and drink over at the Green Dragon with some of her friends.

Since when is a hobbit too tired to feast and drink, you ask? Surely Tearose was not an ordinary hobbit, after all, was she? Verily, she was braver than most and no one could fault her if she wanted to never leave the Shire again. She had suffered injuries that seemed unable to heal fully and so she felt weak, a deadly disadvantage in many dangerous places she had battled and nearly died in.

That night in the Shire when Tearose returned was quiet and peaceful and for that Tearose was very grateful. She sighed as she entered her humble hobbit hole. “I think I’ll go make a nice pot of tea. I may even have a biscuit. Yes, that might be very nice indeed.”

Bookmark: