CHAPTER 1 :CELEBRATION OF EVIL
The sky of the Shire was alight with magnificent reds, greens, and whites. The ground was full of Hobbits dancing and drinking to good music. Conversation had reached its peak of excitement. Frodo sat upon a small tree trunk explaining the plight of the fellowship in the mines of Moria. "...And a great big tentacle wrapped around my foot and tossed me into the air!..." The children gasped and listened eagerly. Near by Gandalf The White shot another fire work into the sky, this of bright yellow and in the shape of a wondrous star. He laughed merrily as he readied another one. Nearly all of the Shire was in good spirits.
It was the tenth celebration of the destruction of the ring of power. A party of the fall of Mordor and its dark leader Sauron and of the story and success of the fellowship and the courage of the ring bearer, Frodo Baggins. And yet ...no one truly knew how deep the roots of evil had gone.
Sam sat beside Frodo listening to the story he too knew so well. Frodo was just getting to when Gandalf had fallen to what seemed his doom. Merry and Pippin danced among the most favored of women Hobbits. And the only other member of the fellowship to visit was Gimili of the dwarves, who drank a date pleasantly among the others and talking of his greatest battles. The times were so nice, so hearty and wholesome, and there was a shadow in the heart of the storyteller the hero-Frodo Baggins. It had started small, so small he didn't notice it, but it was there in his heart. And then it grew slowly, but surely. Even now his breath was slowly becoming deeper; his eyes were carrying the bags of weariness. Quickly he felt the need to retire into his hobbit hole early this year. He waved the children good bye and then turned towards home. Sam noticed his friend's awkwardness and put a hand on his shoulder and said "Are you fine?"
"Oh Sam, just tired." "You don't look well, like you have some plague." "I'm only plagued by weariness, let me rest!" Frodo said loudly and continued the walk to his hobbit hole. Sam looked on as Frodo marched away, and then turned at the tugging at his pants. "Can you tell us more?" They asked putting on their best sad faces. Sam looked up and watched the hobbit disappear into his hole, and decided that Frodo would be fine. But a check up after a story wouldn't do much bad.
"O course!" Sam said smiling. "A story won't hurt no-one." And he perched himself on the trunk Frodo once sat at. "Why, how about of the beast Gollum?" And the children ooo'd their acceptance. "Well..." He began. And the party continued to flourish with music, food, drink and the stories of the end of darkness. Or the lighting of a candle meant to light the way for as long as the wick lasted. The wick had but a hair's width left upon it.
Towards the wood a young frightened looking girl ran up the hill towards them. Not many of the hobbits noticed her for they were having too much of a good time. Her long black dress was flying behind her as well as her long curly hair. "Gandalf!" Her voice rang loudly throughout the party and everyone became quiet. The wizard turned his head towards her in great surprise. "Amelia? What is going on?" Gandalf knew something was wrong for Amelia wasn't the social type.
"It's happened Gandalf, it's coming, you must get everyone out of Hobbiton!" The fear in her voice and hazel green eyes started a panic. Whispers and yelling voices grew about the crowd. "What has happened, what's coming!?" "Is the Shire in danger!?" Thousands of hobbits stampeded towards them. "SETTLE DOWN! SETTLE DOWN!" Gandalf cried over the hobbits. He grabbed Amelia by the arm and dragged her over to a secluded side. "So, you saw it, you know it's coming?" His deep blue eyes gazed into hers.
"I have I was near the river sitting by the stream and I saw it in the water, a monstrous reflection was rising above Middle Earth! It has come for the one who destroyed the ring!" "Is it Mordor?" "This goes deeper than Mordor." All grew silent, waiting for Gandalf to explain. Samwise Gamgee rushed off to tell Frodo what he overheard.
Sam padded quickly to the door of Frodo Baggins, banging and banging as hard as he could. "Mr. Frodo!" Sam called, panicking. "Frodo!" Behind Sam, Gandalf and the new girl came rushing. "We have stalled the hobbits for the moment!" Gandalf cried. "And I must speak with Frodo immediately." "Well he ain't answering this here door!" Sam replied. "Imbecile! This is above simple formalities!" Gandalf retorted, barreling into the hobbit hole. Amelia followed Sam and looked on.
"Frodo!" Gandalf said. spotting the hobbit sprawled on the floor. His face was pale as death and his breath was slow and shallow. "Samwise, collect me mushrooms, blue and some weed. Amelia put some water to boil. Make haste!" And the two were off to complete their chores without questions. "Frodo" Gandalf whispered. "All will be explained. Your illness is no coincidence!"
Amelia set a fire under a pot of water stored in a cabinet and began tapping her black, flat, school girl shoes wondering. She didn't truly know what was happening herself. Only that what she saw in the stream was a sign of pure evil rising, evil that should not have been real for ten years. It was either coming back or it never was truly this evil.
Samwise ran down to where the party had taken place. The hobbits for the most part were gone, except for a few stragglers hoping to gather some extra food items before leaving. Sam shook his head at their stupidity, while he charged into the near by forest. The blue mushrooms of which Gandalf was speaking were usually found near water, the stream the girl had been at earlier.
And who was that girl? He thought. Quite beautiful, but she knew Gandalf. Was she a wizard? Sam wasn't sure, but he had to stay focused- Mr. Frodo was needing those mushrooms and it was his job to find them. "Don't worry Mr.Frodo, I'll fix things up in a jip." He whispered as he dashed through the woods. He was quickly out of breath and heaving, his adventurous self had not been present for 10 years. He puffed and heaved a bit before picking himself up into a jogging pace. Frodo seemed to attract trouble, first the ring and now ...
What? What was coming? Even Sam had no idea of what was coming, only the wizards did. If the girl was a witch. Sam honestly didn't know. "Aha!" Sam cried as he reached the river. Just there on the other side of the small, shallow stream was the mushrooms, glowing bright blue in the moon light. Sam backed up a step, and then leaped the distance onto the other side of the stream. He rolled onto his back, took a deep breath and then crawled over to the mushrooms and plucked them.
"I'm coming Mr. Frodo!" Sam cried leaping the distance again and running into the wood. He had to hurry if Gandalf was right, and that wizard , in fact all wizards, has a knack for being right. Not always good when they see bad stuff coming! He thought. Sam stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't quite reached town yet, but he had heard something deep in the woods. He put a hand to his ear to listen intently and waited for the sound to come again. It came slowly and in a highly pitched hiss.
"Baaaaaaggiiiiiiinnssssssss." It whispered. Sam couldn't place it at first, but he knew. He remembered from a journey a long time ago, a journey with the ring of power and to Mordor. They were the first to hunt down Frodo, until the great wave seemed to get rid of them. Sam still didn't move frozen in fear. When he heard the clopping of hoofs he dashed toward town with a speed only fear could bring.
The night was cold and it began to grow darker. "I fear something has happened to Mr. Gamgee." Amelia stood on guard watching the trees waiting for Sam to arrive while Gandalf tried to nurse Frodo back to health. From down the hill Samwise Gamgee was spotted running back to the hobbit hole. He wasn't hard to miss, he was quite plumper than the others. "Hurry let me in!" Fearing that the black riders followed him Sam pounded on the rather large, round green door. Amelia rushed towards Sam's calling and let him inside. "Gandalf sir they are coming I h'erd 'em." "Heard what Mr. Gamgee?" Said Gandalf as he took the mushrooms away from him and placed them in the boiling pot. "Them black riders in the wood, I h'erd 'em riding this way sir."
Sweat ran down his forehead and his knees were trembling. "I don't think I ever been more scared sir, out there in them woods all alone." "So it is as I feared." Amelia turned to Gandalf in panic. "We must hurry Gandalf there is no time!" Gandalf muttered words from the elvish language over the blue mushroom soup. It began to bubble rapidly and turned to a more goldish color. "Help me Amelia, hold his head up." She bent down looking at Frodo, he was rather pale and his were turning a gray lifeless sort of color. Sam watched impatiently muttering under his breath "C'mon Frodo wake up please."
He was pacing back and forth looking out the window every few minutes. Gandalf poured the gold liquid into Frodo's mouth but to his surprise nothing happened, he still lay there motionless on the hard wooden floor. "What's the matter Gandalf? Why isn't it working?" Amelia touched Frodo's face it was cold and he seemed not to feel it. Gandalf shook his head not knowing what else to do. "It has gone to far into his blood I'm afraid there is no way I can stop it."
Sam turned and looked Gandalf, his eyes wide with terror. "What do you mean Gandalf sir? Frodo... why isn't he waking up!?" He jumped down towards him and pushed Amelia to the side. "Frodo! Frodo!" He shook him vigorously. "SAMWISE GAMGEE!" Gandalf's eyes grew a dark black color from its usual bright blue, he stood up and Sam now realizing that Gandalf was much bigger than he was backed away immediately. "Gandalf!? ...They are here." Amelia stood by the window looking out back at the black riders. They were the most frightening creatures that roamed this part of the Shire. They were kings once but now they were nor living nor dead. They were at least 7 ft tall and wore a long black cloak that covered there whole body including their face. Their armor was still apart of them though underneath the shredded clothing. There were nine of them each riding a large black horse, but the horses were no ordinary ones. They were bigger than usual, they bared scarlet eyes and there hoofs had what seemed to be blood stains from the victims they claimed. They wanted Frodo Baggins. The one who burdened the ring 10 yrs before. Not knowing that the evil had just begun, neither Frodo or Gandalf was prepared for what was about to happen.
"We must get out of here! All nine of them are much stronger than the 2 of us!" Sam looked at Amelia for there were 3 of them but Sam held no power so he dared not say anything. "There's no way out of that I know of" said Gandalf now having the feeling that they would have to face the ring wraiths. Amelia looked down trying to come up with a way to fight them off but as clever as she may be, she was to nervous to think. "What about them stories? About Ole' Bilbo having that under ground tunnel with that buried treasure?" "Why that Mr. Gamgee is the most wise thing you have ever thought of." Sam blushed he had never gotten a compliment from anyone in his life. "You and Amelia go look around this place and see if you can find it, I'm going to try to get Frodo to fight this illness."
Amelia and Sam hurried off in the back of the hobbit hole. It seemed so small from the outside but it was quite big. It had many sharp turns around every corner, the rooms were vastly large and some odd in shape. Amelia could see there were hidden door ways in many of the long hallways. They searched every room, every nook and cranny but there was nothing but closets and food storages. "I don't know where it could be." Sam was getting paranoid the black riders were bound to come in at any moment. "What if them black riders come in?" Sam was shaking, he did not want to face what he had to 10 years ago.
Amelia took a deep breath and lifted up her arms, she concentrated on the front door and spread out her hands lowering them slowly and a blue light surrounded the house. "Not to be rude miss, but this ain't the time to be exercisin." Amelia looked at him strangely, she was surprised he knew what exercising was by looking at him. His green high water pants were to small for him and a button on his shirt was missing. "I was merely putting a shield around us so they can't enter, it should hold them off for a little while." Sam looked confused. He always thought magic folk had to say spells. "One does not have to use simple words to create magic."
Back in the room Gandalf whispered elvish words, trying with all his might to return Frodo. So far, not much had worked and the hobbit spoke a single sentence. "Darkness rises, doesn't it?" Gandalf sighed regretfully. "Had I known ... I'm sorry Frodo my dear friend." But the hobbit had fell away from consciousness again already.
Amelia turned her head slightly to the end of the left hallway. She walked slowly to it, Sam was watching her intentivly. A picture was hung on the wall of Bilbo himself, though he was much younger. She slide her hand across the wood. "Something the matter miss?" "It is here, in this wall." She knocked on it with her knuckles, a hollow sound echoed through the corridor. "How do we get to it?" Amelia shook her head. She ran back to Gandalf, he was still sitting beside Frodo, she could see he had not been successful. "I think I have something Gandalf." Gandalf turned to her, his eyes bright blue with hope.
"Then we must hurry, we don't have enough time till the wraiths break down your barrier." He lifted Frodo up, it wasn't hard for him because Frodo was about 4'2 and didn't weigh very much. Amelia left Gandalf around the left corner to where Sam still stood trying to see if he could get in. "Your not going to find any hidden buttons here Mr. Gamgee." Said Gandalf as Sam was trying to pry the picture off the wall to see if there was a secret valve. "Always good just to make sure Gandalf sir." He stepped slightly to the side with embarrassment. The sound of hoof beats roaming around the house was getting louder, the cold metal of their swords could be heard as they got ready to plumet through the door.
"Their emotions are beyond anything we have faced! We must get through this hollow!" As Gandalf spoke a large sword plunged through the front door. Their screams grew violent, a cry for blood lust. "Sam take Frodo!." Gandalf handed the small hobbit into his hands. "Amelia you take them towards Bree! We shall plan from the wood near it!" He took his staff and held it tightly in both hands. The sound of the front door crashing echoed through the hobbit hole. "GO!" Gandalf shouted and with a short phrase in elvish, the wall crumbled, revealing a dark, cold, secret tunnel that went miles under the house. "I will wait for you Gandalf!" And with that she turned on her heel and ran leading Sam to follow. Light illuminated around them as she made the torches go up in flames as she went past. "I hope I will be there to wait for" Said Gandalf in a low whisper as he turned his head to see the riders staring at him, their hearts filled with evil. Amelia and Sam dashed down the cold passage left by Bilbo years ago. As they pressed on each torch went ablaze and then faded into nothing as they passed it. In Sam's arm was Frodo, eyes shut and face pale as death. It was a though the poor hobbit had already been dead for years. Sam's heart began to grow heavy and weak. Sam slowed down as Amelia moved on. "I cannot be doing this Miss." He said. "I fear to much for Frodo, and for Gandalf, and of our other friends in Hobbiton, for Merry and Pippin and even Gimili were sharing in the fest." Amelia walked back to Sam and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I understand you're plight, but you must keep you're emotions in check. Imagine what should happens if an enemy attacks now! You must remain ever in your control of you're emotions, for when the time comes, you may be tested and you must put all else behind you." Sam nodded slowly and his gaze fell to Frodo.
"He worsens." Amelia whispered, taking her hand from his shoulder and lowering it all the way to Frodo's head. Her fingers reached the icy cold of his flesh and then she understood that their options were limited to one then. "He will not make it to Bree on foot." She said. "Nor even by horse back, should luck favor us on the way. But neigh, there is but one way he can make it to Bree in health." Sam's face brightened, but Amelia's didn't, and suddenly he realized there was a grave catch to her plot. "You don't smile." He said.
"Why when you have discovered Frodo's safety?" "Frodo's safety means you're misfortune, for I cannot bring more than one with me and I haven't the strength even for that. If we are spotted, then we are doomed." "But you are doomed either way, so at least take you're chance! I will stay with Gandalf, and perhaps even Merry and Pippin. Gimili wouldn't be far either with the bought that must be waged in Frodo's home." Amelia nodded and sighed, for the weight of leaving this new comer was heavy even on her heart, and she still didn't know much about him. And yet she already felt for him, and even rest of the fellowship she hadn't met, like sister to a brother, like... as though she was meant to be with this party, like she was meant to protect the bearer.
"Oh Sam, guard yourself well and follow Gandalf for I'm sure he will protect you!" Sam nodded, and handed Frodo to Amelia. "And you better be watching that there Baggins!" Amelia smiled. "He is in good hands." Her long, curly hair lifted and then straightened out, standing up nearly straight out of her head, and then there was a light so strong that Sam had to fall back and cover his eyes. And then, he was alone in the deep, dark of the cave, and the screams of the riders seemed to erupt and follow after him. A stranger leaning against the outer wall of Bree, watching the East Road. He knew of what was to come, but how he would never reveal.
All that he knew, that he understood, in a bright light. And of all things, he would have to nurture this evil, and the young girl who should also be with the shadow. Only the shadow wouldn't appear as a shadow whatever form it would take he did not- There- -Deep down the road, a bright white light flared out of the ground and faded. The boy took a deep breath, nearly amazed at the truth in one of his premonitions. He wasted no time dashing after the light's origination, for the party was over, and the people of Hobbiton had no idea they were celebrating the evil of Mordor.
