Outtake

BY Olorin01

Boromir:

I looked up at the frost covered mountain and knew we had been beaten. Yet another way closed to us. The thought made my gut churn in rage.

"Far cry from the way it was leaving Elrond's House," I called furrowing my brows up at Aragorn. He was on a rock-ledge overlooking the land beyond. The dark trees and crags of the empty lands made our heart sink.

"Well it can't get any worse," grumbled Gandalf ambling to the ranger's side. His beard was unkempt and soggy. "We're only chased by Goblins, Wargs, and Eru knows what else …"

Aragorn peered back at the others descending the slope like a long grey line. Bill the pony gazed down at the wizard, forlorn and grim. There were tears in Sam's eyes. We all knew what the wizard meant. A day longer and we'd be dead.

"Look," Aragorn despondently murmured pointing to the sky. None of us had to look. They'd been hunting us for hours.

The crows came whirling from the North like a black cloud. Daylight was blotted from the frosty ground, and we could hear them yammering. They'd spotted us again.

"Spies of the enemy," the ranger confirmed blinking down at Anduril. The blade gleamed in his sheath. "We'll be tracked by nightfall. There is no way we can make for the mines."

"Moria," I spat, feeling a bitterness in my throat. "The black Pit isn't a place for folk who can't defend themselves. The ring will be taken unless we do something."

The wizard stared darkly at me clutching his staff. I didn't budge. Aragorn didn't utter a word. His plan had failed. It was time to give another a chance, and the ranger knew it. Gandalf wasn't convinced though, and we could see him weighing both options in the snow.

"The mines are dangerous Gandalf," Aragorn agreed patting his friend on the shoulder. "It would be wise not to put the ring nearer to the hand of the enemy …"

"And what of Saruman," the wizard sighed closing his eyes. The lines and creases deepened in his face. "He'll mark our passage to … to …"

"Think of Gondor," I chimed in flashing him a reassuring smile. "Think of the berg with its high stone walls and stout men. It can not keep the shadow at bay for long. But it will buy time …"

"Time we need," the wizard relented sagging in concern. "We will have it your way then Boromir. To gondor it is."

But the wizard didn't smile or talk much all that day. It was though he were restling with something deep in his heart … or as though he had looked into mine, and he had seen there my fear. What if the ring should come to the Sorceress of the Golden Wood? What if the Goblins of the caves should take it? No, the ring had to go to Gondor. I didn't dwell on why back then. I didn't want to. I hadn't accepted yet, a simple fact- a fact that Gandalf knew in me from the start. I wanted the ring- not for Gondor … But for myself.

Frodo:

Uncle Bilbo once told me that every great adventure begins with just one step. "If you can take that one step," he said," You can go the distance."

Let me tell you, getting to Gondor was a lot harder than taking that first step. I can still remember the way we huddled round the fire at night listening to the harsh calls of Orcs in the hills. I never slept. The ring felt like ice around my neck. The chain links dug into my flesh, and my hands itched just to put it on … and slip away. I couldn't though- Sam was Watching.

"No good comes from putting your foot in the wrong door like me old gaffer used to say back home," he'd explain shaking his head. "We got a real adventure to get done. You dash off and lord knows what might happen. You might lose a finger."

That made me laugh. Bilbo hadn't lost a limb on his quest, although he lost many other things- and friends. I tried to sleep but kept on thinking of Thorin lying on his bed of stone at the heart of the Lonely Mountain. He looked pale in his tomb and kept staring back at me with those cold blank eyes. I couldn't lose Sam like that. I'd trade my whole hand before I'd let that happen. But what can I do, I thought to myself. I'm a Hobbit- a Halfling. Yet whenever I needed a lift, Sam was there. I'll never forget that. I doubt anybody will.

A/N: This is the last outtake for awhile, as DarkPhionix is going to be gone for a year or more. Thanks to Olorin01 who wrote this amazing piece!