Chapter 7

I had barely recovered when the fat one attacked me. I had done nothing to him, why did he attack us my precious? Yet I was strong, I wrapped around him and thrust his swollen face into the ground. He hit me with his head, one last time so I bit his shoulder, tightening my grip around his arms, all I had to do now was find his neck.

"Let go! Gollum." The other, the one that had my precious. He had a sword, he held it to my throat and pulled my hair back so I was looking directly into the pale eye. I hated it, why does they torture is? Why does everyone hurt poor Sméagol? Gollum, Gollum.

" This is Sting. You have seen it before once upon a time. Let go, or you'll feel it this time! I'll cut your throat." I could hear the malice in his voice, he would kill me without thinking. I let go of the fat one and rolled over in what I hoped was a supplicant manner. The eye watched as they loomed over me.

" Don't hurt us! Don't let them hurt us, precious! They won't hurt us will they, nice little hobbitses? We didn't mean no harm, but they jumps on us like cats on poor mices, they did, precious. And we're so lonely, Gollum. We'll be nice to them, very nice, if they'll be nice to us, won't we, yes, yess." They were just like the people from my village. I had done nothing to them and yet they were ready to kill me. The fat one showed no mercy in his stance, but the ring spoke to the bearer. My precious protected me.

" Well, what's to be done with it?" The round one, the nasty one. " Tie it up, so as it can't come sneaking after us no more, I say." Tie us up, with what? The elvish rope, I remembered how it burnt when I untied it at the top of my climb. I still felt it sore on my fingertips. I would not be bound like that, even the Ranger had not been so cruel.

" But that would kill us, kill us," I pleaded. " Cruel little hobbitses. Tie us up in the cold hard lands and leave us, gollum, gollum." It could well have been true, if not then it would certainly feel like a reprieve to die with the pain of it. Yet hobbitses hearts were unkind. Only caring for those who would support them, what compassion is there in that?

" No," said Frodo. " If we kill him, we must kill him outright. But we can't do that, not as things are. Poor wretch! He has done us no harm." True, true. The little one was wise, the ring, my precious. She convinced him to be kind, to see past the others prejudice.

" Oh hasn't he!" The round one rubbed his bleeding shoulder. " Anyway he meant to, and he means to, I'll warrant. Throttle us in our sleep, that's his plan."

" I daresay," said the little one. " But what he means to do is another matter." I could see now that I might yet live, I sniffled the last of my tears back. The little one was thinking, listening to precious. Eventually he lowered his sword.

" Very well, but still I am afraid. And yet, as you see, I will not touch the creature. For now that I see him, I do pity him."

I would live, my precious saved me. The fat one was angry, but would not defy his master.

" Yess, wretched we are, precious. Misery misery! Hobbits won't kill us, nice hobbits."

" No we won't. But we won't let you go, either. You're full of wickedness and mischief, Gollum. You will have to come with us, if you can. One good turn deserves another."

" Yess, yes indeed." All I had to do was agree, I could follow them till it was safe to take precious. Why would they think me untrustful and wicked my precious? I need only for what is mine, what belongs to me. " Nice hobbits! We will come with them. Find safe paths in the dark, yes we will. And where are they going in these cold hard lands, we wonders, yes we wonders?"

" You know that, or you guess well enough, Sméagol," So he knew my name. " We are going to Mordor, of course. And you know the way there I believe."

" Ach! Sss! We guessed, yes we guessed, and we didn't want them to go, did we? No, precious, not the nice hobbits. Ashes, ashes, and dust, and thirst there is; and pits, pits, and orcs, thousands of Orcses. Nice hobbits mustn't go to - sss - those places." I mustn't go either, they knew me there. I had escaped only after much suffering the last time, and it was true that there was seldom enough water to drink without drawing the orc's attentions.

" So you have been there? And you're being drawn back there, aren't you?" No, I was following the ring, I did not wish to see Mordor again in my days.

" Yess. Yess. No! Once, by accident it was, wasn't it, precious? Yes, by accident. But we won't go back, no, no!" I could feel my pain tearing at me for just the thought of it. I could kill them now I thought, yet I also thought that they had shown mercy, no-one had shown mercy to me since my childhood. Since I was Smeagol, and hunted down furrows in the woods.

I could feel my pain tearing out off me, and my pain I had given a name. Gollum, that was the name they had called me when I left my village,. When my life became darker, because of their hate.

" Leave me alone, Gollum! You hurt me. O my poor hands, Gollum! I, we, I don't want to come back. I can't find it. I am tired. I, we can't find it. Gollum, Gollum, no, nowhere." I fought with my pain, but it wanted me to kill.

" They're always awake. Dwarves, Men, and Elves, terrible Elves with bright eyes. I can't find it. Ach!" I felt more pain, from the outside of my body. The hobbitses were watching with alarm. I felt Sauron's eye, he was calling me, I thought it was my precious, but he wanted me to bring it to him. I could not see it before, why could we not see it before?

" We won't! Not for you. Gollum, Gollum. Don't look at us! Go away! Go to sleep!"

" He will not go away of go to sleep at your command, Smeagol. But if you really wish to be free of him again, then you must help me. And that I fear means finding us a path towards him. But you need not go all the way, not beyond the gates of his land. The little one could sense him too, that was why he was going there. But he was strong, his mind still his own.

So I agreed to lead them towards the Black Gates. I would help them as best I could, and I would perhaps, not take precious just yet. I could still feel my desires, but were they my own or his? I feared him now more than ever, for I knew that he was trying to get inside of me. I would keep the ring safe from him, I would find a way to keep him from me. Then my precious would be mine.

The round one insisted that they tied me though, even after the little one had promised kindness. He said I would call the orcses, he said they were my friends. He tied my ankle, it burned worse than any fire Sauron could conjure. I screamed and flailed in anguish.

" It hurts us, it hurts us. It freezes, it bites! Elves twisted it, curse them!" Nasty cruel hobbits! That's why we tries to escape, of course it is, precious. We guessed they were cruel hobbits. They visits Elves, fierce Elves with bright eyes. Take it off us! It hurts us."

" No, I willnot take it off you. Not unless there is any promise you can make that I can trust." The little one had paused as he said it. My precious was guiding him, I could almost hear her words to him. I knew that I would do anything to stop this pain, the heartless fat one glowered at me.

" We will swear to do what he wants, yes, yess." The pain was excruciating, I claws at the wretched thing but it was too tight. " It hurts us."

" Swear?" The Gollum part of me spat in disgust at my weakness.

" They have tamed you." It taunted me, but I was strong still, I chose, I was not forced. The young part of me, the part that I had suppressed for years to survive, it found a way to end the suffering.

" Smeagol. Smeagol will swear on the Precious." This angered the fat one, he rose to hit me.

" On the Precious? How dare you? Think! One Ring to rule them all and in the Darkness bind them. Would you commit your promise to that Smeagol? It will hold you. But it is more treacherous than you are. It may twist your words. Beware!" Such loothing, and such lack of understanding. He had not worn her like the other one, how could he know anything about her? His hand was still raised and I cowered back hoping for mercy. It burnt hot and cold.

" On the Precious, on the Precious!"

" And what would you swear?" The small one pulled his servant back, oh please just take the pain away.

" To be very very good. Smeagol will swear never, never, to let Him have it. Never! Smeagol will save it. But he must swear on the Precious." It was the only true and faithful thing I had ever known, what else would he have me swear on?

" No! not on it. All you wish is to see it and touch it, if you can, though you know it would drive you mad. Not on it. Swear by it, if you will. For you know where it is. Yes, you know, Smeagol. It is before you." I all wanted was to be sure she was safe, why would he not show her to me? Why did he not trust me so, they not trust me so? Why were all hobbitses so disdainful of Smeagol? I touched his robes, silently petitioning his mercy one last time. He kicked me off, the pain, the pain was surrounding me.

" Down! Down! Now speak your promise!"

" We promises, yes I promise!" Because now I had control of myself, the Smeagol had control of myself, Gollum had turned in disgust. " I will serve the master of the Precious. Good master, good Smeagol, Gollum Gollum!" With nothing else to offer I wept.

" Take the rope off, Sam!"

The one called Sam did masters bidding, yet he handled me roughly in order to gain just one extra point. As soon as I was free I danced out of range of the fat one, using my master as protection. Yet I was now free of three things, not just the elvish bonds, but of Sauron, and of the pain inside me, of Gollum. I was Sméagol. I served my master well, guiding the paths over the terrain, laughing at master's jokes and riddles. While the fat one complained and ate the food, while his master struggled on his feet.

Please review, why has only one reviewed we wonders, yess, we wonders.

I led them into the Dead Marshes, there was no safe way through, but I led them where the orcses would not wander. The pale eye had decended behind the mountains, and it was dark. But my eyes shone as I guided my master, yes, good Smeagol.