I don’t own any of these characters, except Bryony. I promise I will put them back when I’m done.

Author’s Notes:
I know this doesn’t look like an AU story, but it will be. There are some changes comming soon. Also, this is my first fanfiction, so don’t kill me, please.

Chapter One
“Bryony?”
“Yes, ada?” The hobbit girl turned to face her adoptive father, knocking a stray curl from her eyes.
“Mithrandir has come.”
Gathering her small blade, Bryony followed him up the steep hill of Weathertop. At the top, surrounded by the ruined stones of Amon Sul, she two men sitting beside a small fire. One she knew instantly; Aragorn, leader of the Dunadain. The other, though she had only met him once as a small child, was Mithrandir, the wizard.
“Mae Govannon, cousin,” Aragorn smiled at her father, Halbarad. “I am glad you have come.”
“And you have brought your ward, as I asked.” Said Mithrandir, looking straight at Bryony. “I remember, when you first spoke of adopting her, I was unsure how a hobbit-child would fare as a ranger.” But now she will be of great help, if she so chooses.”
“I — I will?” Bryony was confused. She had been brought up with the Dunadain, true, but had never been a spectacular warrior. “I — there are others who are far better warriors then me, my lord, I –” Mithrandir waved a hand at her, and her mouth snapped shut.
“Mithrandir has informed me of a danger that may soon descend upon the Shire.” Aragorn said. “We will have some of our people watching for trouble, but none of our rangers could stay long within its boundaries without arousing suspicion. The shire-folk would notice a man within their borders.”
“Oh.” Bryony said in a small voice. “You want me to stay within the Shire, act as a scout?” She frowned for a moment. All of her life had been spent with the Dunadain, and though her father had offered to take her to the Shire more then once, she had said no. Her life was with the rangers, it always had been and would be. She knew of nothing else. The prospect of meeting her own people was a frightening one. Yet this was the command of her liege-lord. Her own fears would simply have to be placed aside. She nodded. “Very well, I will.”
Mithrandir chuckled. “I suspected that you would agree.”
“What would you have me do, my lord?” Bryony asked, fiddling with the emblem of the silver star, that pinned her cloak at her throat.
“You will be staying with a friend of ours, a hobbit named Bilbo. He is the only one who knows you are a ranger. To everyone else, you are a distant relation, visiting from Bree.”
“How does this Bilbo know?”
Mithrandir gave him a smile. “He was the one who named you. I asked him many times if he could find any family of yours living in the shire. He never could.” The wizard gestured to Bryony and Halberad to sit by the fire. Bryony leaned against her father’s shoulder, as Mithrandir continued, “We considered sending you to live with a family there, but Halberad had taken a liking to you, and you to him. It seemed the better choice.”
Bryony smiled, looking up at the tanned face of her father. “I’m glad of that.”
“You may not stay that long. Bilbo will supply you with clothing more appropriate to a hobbit-lass.”
Staring at her battered green pants and brown tunic, Bryony realized that her clothing would be quite out of place. She had seen a few of the shire-hobbits before, though she had never spoken to them.
“When do I leave?” Bryony asked, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. How would her own people react to her, an outsider who knew none of their ways?
“As soon as possible.” Aragorn said. He gave her a slight smile. “I know this will be hard, but it is important. You may tell anything you find to Bilbo, he will be able to contact either of us.”
Bryony nodded, not trusting her voice. Mithrandir dismissed her and Halberad, and they scrambled back down the hill towards a small dell, where the rangers would commonly camp.
“This scares you, Bryony, hm?” Her father asked, encircling the crown of her head with his arm.
“I don’t know these people, ada,” Bryony admitted, “I don’t know what they’ll think of me, I don’t know what to do, or say, or –”
“You don’t have to know,” her father said. “I would be worried if you did know. If you knew in advance what you would say, if you could search their minds and know their thoughts,” he chuckled softly. “I would say that you had a very unusual ability.”
Chuckling, she saw the wisdom in her father’s words. “Hannon le, ada.” As she spread her bedroll out on the ground, she found that the fear had lessened, and was now simply the fear of a new assignment. Whatever the hobbits thought of her really wouldn’t matter. She had her father, and her family right here, in the Dunadain.