So this is Chapter two! I just want to say, so far this story has had some really great responses!

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Wow! That's a lot of thank-yous! I hope I spelt all of those right, and if I didn't, I'm so sorry!

So, without any further ado, here is chapter two!

The next morning, I awaken to Romulus licking my face. "Urrghh... What do you want?" I moan, shoving the great hairy lump off.

I'm hungry! And I need you to take me hunting, because Lindir mentioned yesterday that Elves don't eat meat, which means I have to head outside the borders to hunt!

I sigh and slide out of bed, looking inside the trunk for clothes. Mostly, they are silk dresses, that I will never have the chance to wear by the sounds of it. Luckily, at the very bottom, there are several pairs of leggings, and tunics. I pull a pair of chestnut coloured leggings on, along with a burgundy tunic. My hoodie is dry now, so I slip that on over the top. My boots are also dry, so I pull them on.

After tugging a brush through my shoulder length red hair and plaiting it into two braids that hang past my ears, I open the door and allow Romulus to run out.

Judging by the sky outside, I would guess that it is early morning, earlier than I would wake up at home. But already there are Elves walking about, engrossed in their daily business. They still give us a wide berth, but I hear several people whispering Draughên, and Breigfaer under their breath. I don't know what to feel about this rapidly developing situation, and am hoping to find more out in the Council later this morning.

We reach the bridge to the cliff easily, and I wait there while Romulus takes off to go hunt in the forest. I have no complaints about not eating meat. I could easily be a vegetarian.

About half an hour later, Romulus returns, muzzle faintly pink, and stomach satisfied.

Happy now? I ask in a joking turn as we head back into Rivendell.

Very, he replies, tail swinging from side to side.

Good. It's my breakfast time, now, then we have to go find the room where the Council is being held. I reckon that'll take a while, I say, navigating my way to the kitchens by the smell of baking bread. Quickly and quietly stealing an apple and a piece of bread from the side, we walk past and out into a garden. Several Elves are already there, tending to the flower beds.

We sit down on a patch of grass while I eat. It doesn't take too long, but all the while, I have the feeling of being watched. It's a tad worrying, and I am about to mention it to Romulus when he says quietly, There is a blonde male Elf watching you from over there.

I sneak a glance on the pretence of picking a daisy from the grass. Sure enough, there is a male Elf, sitting in the branch of a tree, blue eyes focused on me.

Well, that explains my feelings of being watched, I joke. Romulus gives me a withering look – am impressive feat for a wolf. I shut up. It is a little odd. I suppose we should get to the Council – it starts soon.

We stand up and make our way back out the gardens. As we enter the building again, I glance back at the Elf in the tree. Our eyes meet, and he quickly looks away. Strange.

-0—0—0—

"Strangers of distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor," Lord Elrond begins. "Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall."

I'll tell you who's falling, Romulus thinks to me angrily, The Elf and those men who keep staring at you.

It's nice to know you care, Romulus, but I've noticed, and I prefer to ignore them, I respond.

"Each race is bound to this fate – this one doom," Elrond continues. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." He gestures to a stone pedestal. Frodo, a small, dark haired Hobbit, stands up slowly, walks towards the pedestal, and places the Ring down right in the middle.

Immediately the Council room is filled with whispers. Frodo returns to his seat with a sigh, of what looks like relief.

"So it is true..." A ginger/strawberry blonde man, from what Lindir told me was Gondor, leans forwards. He rises slowly, stepping closer to the Ring with each step he took. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark, but in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying 'You doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found'..."

He reaches for the Ring. All of a sudden, Elrond jumps up, shouting "Boromir!"

An old man, who Lindir told me was Gandalf, a wizard, stands up and begins to speak in a dark language. "Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!" (One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them!)

I flinch at the speed Boromir's hand shoots back. The sky, which I hadn't noticed was dark, grows light again. Elrond takes his head out of his hands. Boromir sits back down. "Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris!" Elrond says furiously.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil!" Gandalf says gruffly, as though daring anyone to challenge him.

I decide to speak. "Err... I've not been here very long but from what I've been told, he's right. This Ring does seem evil, though that defies all common logic to me. I second Gandalf."

I hear muttering again. Mostly, it is people questioning my reason for being in the Council. One look from Romulus shuts them up. But the rest of the whispering is about the fate of the Ring.

"It is a gift!" Boromir speaks insistently.

"Oh, not you again," I mutter under my breath. I hear Gandalf, who's sitting next to me, chuckle quietly.

"A gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring?" he begins to pace up and down. "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy! Let us use it against him!"

A second man, one Lindir told me was called Aragorn, who is heir to the throne of Gondor, stands up to challenge him. "You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master!"

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

The Elf who was staring at me earlier leaps up. "This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

"Aragorn?" Boromir asks in surprise and disbelief. "This... is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," the Elf continues.

"Havo dad, Legolas," Aragorn says quietly. (Sit down)

So stalker guy is called Legolas? I confirm with Romulus.

It seems so. Strange guy.

"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king," Boromir fumes, sitting down.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it," Gandalf says, always the voice of sense. Well, as far as I've heard him speak.

"You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed," Elrond says.

"What are we waiting for?" growls a Dwarf. He stands up and grabs his axe, approaching the pedestal. With a great shout, he swings the axe down onto the Ring. He is immediately thrown backwards. The axe is destroyed, and I have to dodge a flying shard of it, but the Ring remains completely intact. Not even a scratch.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. It was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came... One of you must do this," Elrond says darkly.

Silence falls on the courtyard. Boromir makes to speak again, and I groan. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!"

Legolas leaps to his feet. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

Gimli the Dwarf is quick to rise. From what I've heard, this argument between the races has been going on for ages. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!" he growls.

"And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!" Boromir joins them.

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli roars.

Immediately, everyone starts arguing. It causes such a din that Romulus presses his ears flat with his paws.

Get them to shut up! he says angrily.

I make to stand up and separate the Elves from the Dwarves, when I hear a little voice. "I will take it! I will take it!"

I look around to see Frodo, standing bravely. No one hears him over the din. Silence them for me, would you? I ask Romulus. He looks extremely willing to do so, and stands up. Raising his muzzle to the air, he howls as loud as he can. The arguments cease instantly.

"When you've quite finished," I begin, "Frodo has something to say."

"I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though... I do not know the way," he says quietly, as though he is regretting offering to take anything anywhere.

Gandalf wakes towards Frodo and places a hand on his shoulder "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn rises suddenly, kneeling in front of Frodo. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas joins the group.

"And my axe!" Gimli shouts, not to be outdone by an Elf. He and Legolas exchange dark looks.

Slowly, Boromir approaches. "You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

Suddenly, a shout interrupts us all. Samwise the Hobbit emerges from behind some bushes and runs to join Frodo. "Mr Frodo isn't goin' anywhere without me!"

"No, indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not," Elrond says, amused with a faint smile on his face. Sam blushes to the blonde roots of his hair.

There is a pause. So Romulus and I stand up. "Well, since this prophecy seems to involve me and Romulus joining a Fellowship to help save the world, I guess this is our chance. We're not much good, but we'll try to protect you with our own lives," I smile at Frodo, who replies with a faint grin.

"Wait! We're coming too!" Merry and Pippin, the other two Hobbits, emerge from behind pillars and run to the group.

"You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us," Merry says determinedly. I look down at him, face emotionless.

"That can be arranged," I say in a monotone. He looks up, worried. I break into a grin, and he looks just about ready to faint in relief.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission... quest... thing," Pippin says proudly.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," Merry quips. I bite back a laugh as Pippin nods, then looks at Merry in surprise as if just realising what he said.

"Ten companions," Elrond begins, but is interrupted by Romulus barking. "Eleven companions," he corrects himself. "So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"

Pippin grins excitedly.

"Great! Where are we going?"

AN: And that's chapter two done! Next chapter should be up sometime over the next few days, depending on how fast I type it. It should be tomorrow, hopefully!

Remember to leave a review - it is always greatly appreciated!

Much love,

-CC-