A Lord of the Rings Fanfiction
(NOTE: This story explains how Frodo knows that Sam can't swim. I also wanted Frodo and Sam to have a nice "You've always been there for me, now I'll be here for you" moment, as you'll read later on. The story switches from when the hobbits were really young, like before the "Lord of the Rings" story, to after the destruction of the Ring in "Return of the King". Keep in mind. Thanks!)
Ice Skating
The Shire never looked so good in the winter. The flakes of snow gently floated down from the sky. The grassy, usually green exterior of the hobbit holes was covered in white blankets. While most hobbits were inside their cozy homes, sitting beside the fireplace, reading, young Frodo Baggins was out and about in the town; he was unlike most hobbits in Hobbiton. He had been living with his Uncle Bilbo at Bag End for a couple months, and he was adjusting well to his new environment.
Frodo eagerly ran up the path to Bagshot Row, home to the Baggins' gardener, Samwise Gamgee. After his father, Hamfast, retired, Sam took over the position; even at a young age, he had a passion for nature. Sam was one of the first few hobbits Frodo met after he moved to Bag End. After getting to know his new friend, Frodo sensed something special about Sam, something friendly and somewhat brotherly about him.
He knocked on the round, yellow door, and Hamfast Gamgee opened it.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Frodo," he said. "How are you today?"
"I'm doing fine," Frodo replied. "Can Sam come out and play?"
"Of course," Hamfast said, nodding. "I'll send him right out."
The door closed and Frodo stood and waited. A minute later, he heard Hamfast from inside the hobbit hole, calling "Wear a coat, Sam! It's cold out there!" The door opened again and little Sam stepped out, his brown eyes widening with delight to see his friend.
After a while of throwing snowballs and making snow angels, the two walked down to the lake. The temperature was low enough to freeze the lake over and there were a couple of hobbits skating.
"Do you know how to skate, Sam?" asked Frodo.
"No, I'm afraid not, Mr. Frodo," Sam answered.
"Well, now would be a good opportunity to learn. My cousins taught me how to skate in Buckland; I could teach you," said Frodo, smiling.
Sam looked a bit uneasy. "I...I'm not so sure-"
"Come on, Sam!" Frodo pleaded. "It'll be fun, I promise you."
Sam's eyes moved from the lake to Frodo's face, which now had a playful pout on it. He finally consented. "Alright. I'll give it a try."
They got their skates at the little skate rental hut and strapped them to their bare, hairy feet. Frodo stepped onto the ice and beckoned Sam to step on, too. But Sam stood at the edge, afraid.
Frodo saw the look on Sam's face and held out his hand to him. Sam looked at Frodo's trusting, deep, blue eyes, took his hand, and stepped onto the ice... only to slip and fall on his back.
Frodo helped him up and said, "We'll take this one step at a time. I want you to take a step and try to glide."
Sam took a couple small steps and glided a bit while Frodo glided backwards. However, after a few steps, Sam slipped and fell forward on his knees.
"This is impossible," Sam mumbled as Frodo picked him back up.
"Nothing's impossible, Sam," said Frodo. "And don't give up so easily. It just takes practice."
Frodo had been right. After a few more falls, Sam became able to step and glide for at least twenty seconds without falling.
Then, thirty seconds.
Then, a minute.
Soon, he didn't fall at all. With Frodo pulling him along, holding onto his arm, Sam was gliding almost as smoothly as his friend.
Frodo grinned. "Now you've got the hang of it!"
They decided to challenge themselves. Earlier, Frodo was skating backwards, pulling Sam along. But now the hobbits were skating side by side, holding onto each other's arm. Frodo looked down at Sam, who was starting to enjoy himself. They both didn't realize how fast they were going.
Then, they went too fast, and Sam lost his hold on Frodo. He slid a little distance away from him until he slowed down and stopped. Frodo skidded to a halt; he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Where Sam was standing on the ice, there was an ominous cracking noise.
"Sam, get away from there!" Frodo called out.
But the warning came too late. In a split second, the thin ice gave away and Sam fell through, into the cold water!
"SAM!"
The other hobbits had heard Frodo's screams and were quickly skating over, worried to see what was the matter.
Meanwhile, Frodo was crawling on his front over to the hole in the ice where Sam was bobbing up and down in the water, splashing and gasping for air.
"Help! Help!"
"Take my hand!" Frodo called to Sam.
"I'm drowning, Mr. Frodo! I can't see your hand!"
"Here it is.."
Sam grasped Frodo's wrist, and with the help of another hobbit who was brave enough to crawl out onto the thin ice, Frodo pulled Sam out of the water and onto more solid ice.
As you can imagine, the fun died down after that. Frodo walked with Sam, shivering and soaked with Frodo's coat wrapped around him, back to Sam's house. Sam's father was in quite a worried state when the two of them returned and Frodo had told him what had happened. He sat Sam in front of the fireplace, wrapped him in a warm blanket, and went into the kitchen to make a nice pot of tea.
While he was in the kitchen, Frodo and Sam sat in front of the fireplace, watching the flames spark and crackle merrily. Frodo had the look of guilt with a hint of sadness which he had since he had pulled Sam out of the ice.
"Are you alright?" asked Sam, noticing Frodo's downcast look.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Sam," said Frodo, glumly. "I feel like this was my fault."
"It's nobody's fault, Mr. Frodo," said Sam. "You encouraged me to try something new and I had fun...though I don't think I'll be skating again any time soon." After a brief pause, he added, "Thank you for saving my life."
"You're welcome," Frodo replied, cheering up a bit. "Now that we're friends, Sam, let's agree to look out for each other, whatever challenges come our way."
Sam nodded, smiling.
Many Years Later...
It was the first winter since the War of the Ring. Frodo was standing all alone on the frozen lake where he once played many years ago. He stared at the few snowflakes drifting from the sky; he had forgotten how pretty and peaceful the Shire was in the winter.
Many months ago, he was on the brink not remembering the Shire at all. The One Ring of Power, the burden he carried all the way to Mordor to be destroyed, wore him down slowly but surely and made him exhausted. Frodo had suffered physical scars (a Morgul blade, a cave troll's blade, the stinger of a giant spider, and a finger bitten off), but the worst pain was the Ring's evil influence. At some points during his journey, Frodo grew close to falling under the Ring's power, but with his determination and with Sam's help, of course, Frodo mostly resisted the temptation. Even the creature Gollum played a part in success of destroying the Ring- even if it meant biting off Frodo's finger to secure the Ring and falling into the lava below with it.
Despite of being back in the Shire, Frodo felt that his journey had changed him. "How do you pick up the threads of an old life?" he thought. "There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep that have taken hold."
"Mr. Frodo!"
Frodo's thoughts were interrupted by Sam coming down the path to the lake, calling him.
"Glad to see you're outside. You haven't been out of your house for days."
"I just thought I would get some fresh air," said Frodo.
"It's beautiful out here," said Sam, looking at the snowflakes. "It's like I haven't seen snow in the Shire in ages."
After a pause between the two hobbits, and after looking at Frodo's eyes, down but deep in thought, Sam said, "I've been thinking. About how much I've changed. I remember how I was years ago. I was timid. I was afraid. I never knew the world outside my home. But many months ago, after everything we went through, I feel like I've become more knowledgeable. I've become wiser. I'm not as afraid as I once was. Our journey really changed who I am."
"I feel the same," said Frodo. Suddenly, his deep, blue eyes lit up. He looked at the frozen lake, and then he looked at Sam. This wasn't the serious, tired, and paranoid Frodo that Sam was looking at, but the Frodo he knew before the Ring: young, happy, and fun-loving.
He went over to the skate rental hut. There was no one there, so he sneaked out two pairs of skates. He strapped a pair onto his feet and then he gave the other pair to Sam.
"Let's test your newfound bravery, Sam, shall we?" he said in a playful tone of voice.
Sam hesitated with the skates in his hands. The last time he skated on that lake, he almost drowned. He hadn't stepped onto the ice ever since. However, the incident wasn't the only time he had a near death experience by water...
-Flashback
Sam was running as fast as he could through the forest and towards the banks of the lake, calling Frodo's name. He saw a figure push one of the boats into the water and jump into it. It was Frodo. He was paddling his way to the other side of the lake.
"Frodo, no! Mr. Frodo!"
Sam could see that Frodo wasn't going to stop. With determination coursing through him, he waded into the water.
Frodo stopped paddling and turned his head to see his friend splashing towards him. "Go back, Sam! I'm going to Mordor alone."
"Of course you are!" Sam shouted, wading into deeper water. "And I'm coming with you!"
"You can't swim!" Frodo shouted, anxiously.
Sam fell forward in the water and struggled to swim towards the boat, but he eventually sank underwater.
"SAM!"
Sam had slowly stopped flailing a few seconds later as he sank deeper. Blue water was all around him and he could see the sunlight reflected on the surface of the water. His arm was floating limply in the water; he was about to fade into darkness...
Suddenly, a hand plunged into the water, and grabbed Sam's wrist. Sam tighten his grip on Frodo's wrist, and Frodo pulled his friend out of the water and into the boat. Sam, who was now soaking wet and had tears streaming down his face, looked Frodo straight in the eye, and said, tearfully, "I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise! 'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to...I don't mean to."
And in that moment, Frodo understood. Sam was going to help him carry out this task even if it costs him his life. He had promised Gandalf that he would watch over Frodo, stay by his side. And Sam had no intention of breaking this promise; it just wasn't in his nature.
"Oh, Sam..." Now Frodo was on the verge of tears as pulled Sam into a tight embrace. And so, the two hobbits paddled the boat to the other side of the lake, bound for Mordor.
-End of flashback
Sam thought back to that day. He had never left Frodo's side through the journey to Mordor; he had even saved his life more times than one. But in both near-drowning experiences, Frodo had been there for him.
Frodo was now stepping onto the ice and walking across it to test how thick it was. "There's nothing to worry about, Sam," he said. "It's solid as a rock."
"What are the odds of me almost drowning a third time?" Sam thought. "The ice is thick, and Mr. Frodo will be here if something does happen."
He had made his decision. He strapped on the skates and stepped onto the edge of the lake.
Frodo turned to Sam and held out his hand just like he did many years ago. And Sam slowly took it just like he did many years ago. Then, he stepped onto the ice.
"Do you remember what to do?" Frodo asked.
Sam remembered. "Step and glide."
Frodo glided backwards while Sam took a couple small steps and glided forward. The memory of the two hobbits skating the same way when they were young filled their heads as they smiled at each other.
Sam suddenly slipped and fell forward, but Frodo caught him under the arms.
"I appear to be a bit rusty," Sam said with a chuckle. "It's been a while."
"Don't worry, Sam," said Frodo, grinning. "You'll get the hang of it again."
And so the two of them continued stepping and gliding, one step at a time. Just two friends alone on a frozen lake as the floating snowflakes surrounded them.
The End