GiGi Babineaux
He couldn't see the horizon of the Grey Havens anymore. As they sailed swiftly into the west, Frodo began to feel the pain fade away. It was a strange sensation, having borne it for so long. But in its place was the sadness of just having left his dearest friend behind.
Sam.
Militias Poéta
In his mind, he still saw the small shadows of his friends, his family - those three little people who had gone with him into the shadow of doom, and yet had come out. Sam, Pippin, Merry. He still felt the ache of their presences leaving his life. But the beginning was over, the end was sure to come, and they would soon follow in his footsteps.
GiGi Babineaux
Turning up his face to the sky, and feeling the wind upon his cheeks, he felt new hope. Maybe this had been the right decision. Maybe everything would be alright. But how could it? Why were his friends not taking this journey with him? How could he ever truly be happy again without them?
Militias Poéta
He heard the soft footsteps of Galadriel behind him, a delicate yet powerful hand upon his shoulder. He turned to face the elf Queen, tears in his eyes. Her expression was soft. He saw in her eyes the light of Earendil, light of the west, the light that she had given him, the light that had protected him.
"You have seen the end of all things, and come back," she said.
GiGi Babineaux
Frodo tried to blink the tears back, but they just dripped out of his eyes instead.
"What does it matter anymore?" Frodo asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know we did what we set out to do. I am so terribly relieved that we did. But I wish things hadn't turned out exactly this way. I don't understand why I am still pained. Why can't it be like in the old stories, where you come back and everything goes back to the way it was before?"
Militias Poéta
"You are changed," Galadriel said, looking off back into the east, where the barely darkened horizon quickly became light again. "Even if you went back to the Shire, and everything became the same, it would not be so. You are different. Your experiences have written themselves into you, and however hard you might try, they will not go away."
GiGi Babineaux
"I understand," Frodo said. He looked to the East with forlorn. "If only I could go back to being the person I was before. Then maybe I could have stayed." He thought about this for a moment. "In the end, however, my desires are nothing compared to the salvation of Middle Earth." Frodo looked Galadriel in the eye. "Will I ever see them again?"
Militias Poéta
Galadriel gave a reassuring smile to the hobbit. "What do you think, Frodo Baggins?"
GiGi Babineaux
It took a long time for him to answer. He leaned over the edge of the boat and watched the water passing by beneath them. "My heart tells me that I will. But if I've learned anything from my journey to Mordor, is that you can not trust the will of your heart."
Militias Poéta
"In some cases," Galadriel removed her hand slowly from his shoulder, "One may trust the feelings of their heart. And you are right, little one. Your journey has not been in vain."
GiGi Babineaux
Frodo nodded slowly, and turned back to the Sun. "Then it was worth it."