Disclaimer: I still don’t own any of Tolkien’s characters, unless, of course, you count action figures. Chase and Lori are fictional beings existing only in my mind.

Chapter Three:
Group Dates

“Now it’s time for the group dates,” Lori said, looking over the contestants. “Five of you will be going horse back riding, and the rest of you will go hiking at the national park. Then one lucky guy will get to go on a one-on-one date with Eowyn here.”
Quite a few eyes lit up at this.
“In this basket,” Lori continued, holding out a basket that hadn’t been there before, “are cards with your names on them. Take yours, one at a time, and you will see where you are destined to go for today. Now, form an orderly line—” But she was cut off as there was a general rush to the basket.
Chase laughed. “They seem eager. Just out of curiosity, where’s Aragorn going today?”
Lori folded her arms over her chest and looked at Chase. “That’s classified information.”
“Pleeeeeeease,” Chase whined, her eyes growing big and sad.
“Chase, puppy eyes don’t work on me. Now stop.”
Chase scowled and stuck out her lower lip. “Fine. I’ll find out. I will.” With that she swaggered over to said Ranger and, after a moment or two of staring at him dumbly, tapped him on the shoulder. Aragorn turned around, and, upon seeing Chase, shrieked and drew back. “You’re that creepy girl,” he said, and drew his sword suddenly. “Stay back, I’m warning you.” He waved the sword, and Chase stepped back.
“Listen, I just wanted to know—“
“Don’t let him speak,” Legolas whispered to Aragorn, stepping up beside him. “He shall put a spell on us.”
“That’s my line,” Aragorn snapped. “You stole the king’s line. Off with his head!”
“I’m not a him!” Chase cried.
“See how he tries to deceive us?” After saying that, Legolas whipped out his bow and fitted an arrow onto the string.
Chase decided that now perhaps was not a good time, and backed away slowly.

“So, what am I suppose to do again?”
Lori sighed in frustration. “You get on the horse.”
“This horse?” Sam asked quizzically.
“Yes, this horse.’
“What about that horse over there? He looks like a Bill.”
“This is a fine Bill,” Lori said, waving toward the pony. “Now get on!”
Sam sighed and, grabbing handfuls of the horse’s mane, tried to pull himself up. He failed and landed on the ground, sending dirt flying. He looked up at Lori sheepishly. “Could you give me a boost?”
Lori rolled her eyes and clasped her hands together for him to step into. By the time Sam was on his horse, Lori had learned three things: Sam was quite heavier than he looked, hobbit-feet smell, and pain ensues when a hobbit-heel collides with oneÂ’s eye.
Suddenly, a blur whizzed past Lori, and she whirled around to see that Legolas had mastered the art of horseback riding, and was galloping around the fenced-in pasture. Lurtz was right behind him, his arms gracefully outstretched, face upturned to the sun, reciting some bit of poetry or song. A screech echoed throughout the pasture, and Lori was nearly trampled by a pony as it galloped wildly. When she stood up, she could see a skinny figure clutching the mane with its long fingers, being held on only by that. The rest of his body was flailed out in the air above the saddle.
Eowyn trotted over to Sam, who seemed to be having trouble getting started. As she neared him he looked up, blushed, and toppled off the horse. Eowyn laughed. She extended her hand to help him up, and then proceeded to give him a lesson on horses. Lori smiled. Things were going better than she had expected.
But suddenly, she stopped. Where was Denethor? Lori furrowed her brow, but her question was answered as a member of the crew walked up to her and said something into her ear. She was needed at the Golden Hall immediately.

“So, Eowyn, what do you think of Gondor?” Boromir asked as they went along a path leading through the forest.
“Well,” Eowyn answered, “I haven’t exactly been there…. But from what I hear, it sounds nice.”
“It is!” Boromir said, and then went on with a long description of the White City.
“Hmm,” Aragorn said to himself, looking around. “It’s this way!”
“But, Strider,” said Frodo as Aragorn started through a line of trees, “the road’s right here.”
He turned and looked down at him. “We’re not to travel by the road! You never know who… or what, might be following us. And anyway, I’m the king so you have to follow my orders. Come along!” And he disappeared into the forest.
Frodo sighed. “Here we go again.”
Eowyn caught up with Aragorn and stood very close to him, trying to strike up a conversation. All she seemed to drag out of him, though, was something about being king.
He sniffed the air and scowled. “Rain coming,” he muttered, and then leaped up a slope with no trouble.
“Doom. Doom is at hand!” Elrond said as he stood beside Aragorn, watching the others clamber up.
“Pippin, get you’re foot out of my face,” Frodo grumbled.
“Sorry, it just makes a nice step,” the hobbit replied. “I’m almost up now…” But suddenly the root Pippin was holding onto gave, sending a shower of dirt on top of them as they both tumbled down the hill, knocking Eowyn and Boromir over in the process. By the time all the chaos and noise was over, there were four figures laying in a mangled heap at the bottom of the hill.
“I told you doom was at hand,” Elrond said.
“The king already knew,” Aragorn said, and ran down to help them.

“I’m huuungry,” Pippin moaned, holding his stomach.
Aragorn sighed and turned around. “Pippin,” he said, “we let you eat all your extra meals, so just hush.”
“But, we didn’t have dinner,” he whined, and looked down at the ground sadly.
Eowyn patted his shoulder. “We can have dinner later, Pippin.”
Pippin blinked at her, and then a flash of recognition flickered in his eyes. “Hey, you’re the cooking lady.”
Eowyn blinked in shock, and Frodo tugged at her sleeve. “Don’t mind him,” he said, “he does that.”
Eowyn smiled down at him. “That’s all right,” she said, and grabbed his hand before he tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground.
“Thank you,” Frodo said, brushing himself off. Suddenly, his eyes traveled to the thing that lay glinting on the ground, and he grabbed in up before anyone saw it, and proceeded to whisper to it and stroke it.
Eowyn sighed. “Just when I thought there was at least one sane person here….”
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, and heavy raindrops began pelting down on them. “Ah-ha!” Aragorn laughed. “The king was right!”
“Doom is upon us!” Elrond said.
Pippin just moaned and pulled his hood up over his head.
“Um, Aragorn?”
“King—”
“King Aragorn,” Eowyn sighed. “Shouldn’t we be heading back now?”
“Back?” The Ranger raised his eyebrows. “Why?”
“We need to get back to the Golden Hall by dark.”
“Oh.” Aragorn glanced behind them. “I shall take you back a quicker way. Follow the king!”
“Hey, do you guys hear that?” Boromir asked a while later.
Aragorn stopped suddenly, causing Frodo to run straight into his back. “Yes, I hear it,” he whispered. “Shh.”
There was a faint crackling somewhere behind them, approaching slowly. “We’re being followed,” Elrond said. “Doom—”
But he stopped short as foreboding Jaws music began to play. The dark figure approached them slowly, and immerged out of the trees. It was dressed all in black robes, and something silver glinted at its side.
“Nazgûl!” Boromir cried as it stepped into the clearing.
Then chaos erupted.
Aragorn grabbed a lit torch that appeared out of nowhere, and Eowyn drew her sword. Frodo grasped at his shoulder and fell to the ground on his back, but Pippin just stood in the midst of it all studying a shiny stone, completely oblivious to the fearsome creature threatening them.
The creature screamed as the torch whizzed toward it, but moved aside and the torch just brushed against the hood that began to burn slightly. Eowyn leapt forward and lunged at the Ringwraith before it had time to use its sword. It staggered back, and the hood fell away, revealing Chase, her eyes wide. “Um…. hi, guys How’s it going?”
Everything seemed to stop. Then Frodo pulled himself up off the ground, laughing nervously. Boromir ran off to put out the fire burning thanks to AragornÂ’s torch-hurling, and Elrond started speaking in elvish. Aragorn shrieked like a girl at the sight of Chase, and ran off to help Boromir. Pippin, still oblivious, began to talk to his rock, stroking it. Eowyn caught Chase before she fell, her arm bleeding. “IÂ’m so sorry…” she began. “I didnÂ’t know it was you.”
Something flickering in her eye, Chase fell back limply into Eowyn’s arms. “Ooh,” she moaned overdramatically. “Oh… Oww… I… I see everything going dark….. Cold… ooh….” She cast a glance in Aragorn’s direction, who was now being lectured by Smokey the Bear.
“CHASE!”
The voice thundered throughout the forest, and Chase grimaced.
A figure leapt into view and looked around wildly, mainly at Chase and at Aragorn. “Chase,” Lori growled.
Chase’s eyes widened, but suddenly she let them close. “Lori… Lori is that you?” She opened her eyes slowly, a distant look in them. “Oh, Lori. Thank goodness you’ve come. Everything’s going—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Dark. A light at the end of the tunnel? Chase, you’re not even hurt.” Lori grabbed Chase, attempting to yank her off the ground. But Chase went limp and heavy, resisting.
Lori finally gave up and dropped her. “I can’t believe you left me alone with Denethor. He’s sick with a burning fever and—”
Pippin burst out suddenly in a round of shrill giggles. “Burning fever! Ha! Get it? Burning fever…. He likes to burn things… Ha!” He was consumed by laughter, and rolled around on the ground.
“Anyway,” Lori said. “I had to take care of him while you were supposed to be getting things ready for the date tonight, not stalking Aragorn!”
“But… but…” Chase stammered.
Lori grabbed her up off the ground before Chase could resist, and dragged her off.
“Um… that was… weird…” Eowyn said when they disappeared.
“Don’t worry,” Boromir said, flinging and arm over her shoulder. “I’ll protect you.”
Eowyn made a face.
“Uh, shouldn’t we get back now?” Frodo said, pulled at Aragorn’s sleeve.
“The King says when it’s time to leave!” exclaimed Aragorn. He paused a moment, rubbing his chin. “I think we should be heading back now,” he said, as if he had just thought of it, and lead them on.

—
Join us next time for the one-on-one date!