A/N: Hi! Here is the revised version of "Little Ring Lost". I've changed a few things; nothing major. I will post a new chapter at least every two weeks (hopefully) until I reach the new chapter: chapter five. Please read, enjoy, and then review. Thanks!
Chapter 1: A Lost RingThe Shire, Middle-earth
"Is it secret? Is it safe?" Gandalf asked, scaring Frodo half to death. Nodding his head, Frodo walked over to the chest, where he had put the Ring a few months earlier. I wonder what's wrong with Gandalf. He thought.
While Frodo dug around in the chest, Gandalf was keeping a constant look out. At every sound he jumped and spun around, ready to face whatever evil came his way. After a few seconds of digging, Frodo finally found the small envelope and handed it over to Gandalf. Gandalf practically tore it open. Please let it be here. Gandalf prayed. He looked inside the envelope.
"Nnnnnnooooo!" He yelled. It wasn't in the envelope. How? How could this have happened? He turned toward Frodo. Frodo took one step back because Gandalf's eyes were suddenly on fire. "Has anyone been in that chest since I last saw you?" He demanded.
"No, Gandalf." Frodo stammered. "Besides Sam and I, no one else has been inside this house, let alone the chest." Gandalf nodded slowly, thinking.
"Well, someone has to have been," he muttered to himself, "if it's not inside the envelope." To Frodo, he said, "Frodo, search the house. Look for the Ring. Leave no stone unturned. I'll be back in a moment."
"All right, Gandalf." Frodo started to rummage through the chest, just as the wizard had asked. Gandalf quickly grabbed his hat and went outside. This was bad. If Frodo couldn't find the ring, then that meant it had to be the One Ring. And now the servants of Sauron must have it. This was very bad indeed. But how could the Ring have slipped through his fingers like that? It should have been safe in the Shire. Gandalf cursed himself for not having looked into the origins of the magic ring sooner. He shook his head. All he could do now was pray that the Valor would have mercy.
36 hours later
After going through all of Bag End and its surrounding grounds, there was still no sign of the Ring. Gandalf sat at the table with his head in his hands. How could this have happened? He thought. If Sauron's servants made it this far, surely someone would have seen them. He and Frodo had asked Frodo's neighbors if they had seen anything unusual at Bag End. Or if they had felt any fear that they couldn't explain.
They all just shook their heads, giving Gandalf and Frodo weird looks as they did. Which was not unexpected. Gandalf was not looking forward to telling the Council about this. Speaking of the Council, Gandalf realized he must ride to Rivendell and summon all of the members there. This was now too big for one wizard to handle alone.
Frodo walked over to him with two cups of tea in his hands. He sighed when he looked at Gandalf's sorrowful look.
"Come now, Gandalf. It was just a ring. Even if it did once belong to Bilbo." Frodo handed Gandalf his cup of tea. Gandalf took it, shaking his head.
"No, my boy, this was not just any ring. I fear it was the One Ring. The Ring that was cut off Sauron's finger by Isildur. And now, I have lost it." Frodo stared at him. The One Ring? He had heard stories about it from childhood. How could his uncle have had it?
"The One Ring?" Frodo couldn't believe it. "And Bilbo has had it all this time? How?"
"I'm afraid so." Gandalf sighed, ignoring the second question. "And, now it would seem that the agents of Sauron have the ring. That's the only logical explanation for its mysterious disappearance. It won't be long before we know for sure." He sighed again.
"I thought Sauron was destroyed." Frodo said. "How can his servants have the Ring if he himself is not alive? That does not make any sense."
"Sauron was not destroyed. He lived on. Because he poured his life force into the Ring and the Ring was not destroyed, so he was not destroyed either. Do you understand, Frodo?" Frodo nodded his head.
"I believe I'm beginning to." Frodo sat down in a seat across from Gandalf. If what Gandalf said was true, than this was very bad indeed. Sauron had been the enemy of the free people of Middle-Earth. And if he regained the Ring, Frodo knew that life in the Shire as he now knew it would be gone for good. Sighing, he got up and put his hand on Gandalf's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Gandalf. We will find it. I do not believe the Enemy has it yet. For if he did, we would have surely known by now." Gandalf sighed and looked up at Frodo. Gandalf's eyes were full of sadness as he remembered earlier times and what had happened then. He prayed that history would not repeat itself.
But, maybe Frodo was right. If Sauron or his servants had the Ring, they would have known by now. Right? He would have known while he had been in Gondor, looking for the way to test whether or not it was truly the One Ring. There was still hope that the Ring had simply been misplaced somehow. Smiling, he placed his hand over Frodo's.
"You are right, Frodo, my boy. There is hope that we may still find it. Come, let us be off. I must call the Council together. And it would be best if we left as soon as possible for Rivendell." Frodo's eyes went wide.
"You're taking me with you?" He asked in surprise.
"Yes. Yes." Gandalf said, now impatient. "The Ring was in your possession. It is only right you come. Now, pack your things quickly. We must be off before dawn." Frodo ran to do as Gandalf had bid.
Meanwhile, Gandalf sat at the table thinking of what was going to have to take place. All of a sudden, he heard a noise at the window. Standing, he made his way slowly to it. Reaching out of the window, he grabbed Samwise Gamgee who apparently had been listening to the whole conversation. Lifting him up, Gandalf threw him onto the table.
"Samwise Gamgee!" Gandalf yelled, bringing Frodo back into the room, a pack slung over his shoulders, which fell to the floor after Frodo saw Sam on the table and Gandalf leaning in close. "What do you think you were doing?"
"Nothing, sir. Honest. I was just trimming the hedges, if you get what I mean. Please, sir, don't turn me into anything... unnatural." Sam gulped as Gandalf leaned in close. Despite all that had been happening, Frodo found all this quite amusing.
"Nothing? Sam Gamgee, I think you are lying. Were you eavesdropping?" Gandalf's eyebrow raised half an inch, causing Sam to flinch.
"No, sir. I wasn't dropping no eaves. Honest." Sam paused and drew in a deep breath. "What are you going to do with me?" Gandalf looked over at Frodo, a mischievous smile playing across his lips. A plan was forming in his head. Letting go of Sam, he took a step back.
"I'm not going to do anything with you, Sam Gamgee." Sam sighed loudly and looked very much relieved. "But," Sam flinched. "I think it would be a good idea if you accompanied Frodo and I to Rivendell. I've heard you have always wanted to see the elves. Correct?" Sam nodded his head, too astonished to speak.
"Go pack your things, Sam." Frodo said, smiling at his friend. "We will leave as soon as you are ready." Sam jumped up off the table and ran out the door to do Frodo's bidding.
"Really, Gandalf." Frodo said with a shake of his head. "Did you really have to scare him to death like that? I believe he was just looking after me."
"No, I suppose I didn't have to do that. But, it was quite funny." Standing, Gandalf went to the door to get his hat and his staff. Setting his hat on his head, he looked over at Frodo who was adjusting his cloak. "Are you ready, my boy?" Frodo nodded.
"Yes, Gandalf. Let me get my pack." Walking back into the kitchen, he retrieved the pack he had dropped upon seeing Sam on the table. After getting the pack, he walked over to Gandalf. "Shall we meet Sam on the front walk? Or would you prefer to wait here in the house?"
"We will meet him on the front walk. That way we can set out as quickly as possible." Grabbing his walking stick, Gandalf opened the door and went outside. Frodo followed, securing the door after him.
"Do you really think that the Ring will be found?" Frodo asked, looking up at Gandalf. Gandalf sighed and stared out at the stars.
"I don't know. I do not believe the Enemy has it. But, I can't say for sure." He put a hand on Frodo's shoulder. "We must hope, Frodo. We must hope." The two companions remained silent for the next ten minutes, until Sam came running up to them.
"Sorry it took me so long. My Gaffer was wondering what was going on. So, I had to explain it to him as best as I could." Sam hoisted his pack onto his shoulders. 'Shall we be off? I am excited about seeing the elves."
"Yes, let us go." Gandalf said. "But, quietly. No one must know of our leaving until morning. We will take all the back roads, through forests and fields. Never the roads, though. That's where the Servants of the Dark Lord will be looking." So, in silence, the three companions set off for Rivendell. Hoping that an answer to the riddle of where the Ring was would be found there.