Chapter 18
The next time Frodo woke up it was already light. The hobbit yawned wearily and stretched. It took a little while for him to remember everything that had happened, and at that moment he wished he didn't. Because immediately his heart was full of sadness. Gandalf had fallen. They would have to continue the journey without him now. Frodo was afraid of it. Because it was the wizard who had led the fellowship. And not only that. He had been their friend. The hobbit had known the old wizard all his life and it was inconceivable that he was no longer there. Frodo sighed softly. He could only hope that the fellowship would achieve their goal despite everything. Aragorn would lead them now. Of course, the ring bearer trusted the man, but the man was still very young and had other concerns at the moment.
The hobbit's eyes involuntarily shifted to the motionless elf. The prince was restless and whimpered softly in his sleep. Aragorn was sleeping next to him, his friend's hand in his. Frodo felt pity when he saw the Ranger, for it looked as if he had collapsed next to Legolas someday with exhaustion.
Frodo looked around. Boromir sat a little way away and looked as if he was going to fall asleep at any moment. The man had probably taken over the last watch and that was why he was so tired. Since the hobbit didn't want to sit around any longer, he got up and went to the man who, despite his tiredness, immediately noticed him.
"Frodo?", he asked in surprise as the ring bearer fed. "Hello, Boromir." Frodo didn't really have a clue what to say. So far he had hardly spoken to the man and he did not seem to be really trustworthy. In Rivendell, the human had made it absolutely clear that he really didn't want to destroy the ring. And, as Gandalf had told him, the quest for power was human nature. There was another painful sting in his heart when the hobbit thought of the wizard, but he ignored it.
"If you want, you can go to sleep." Boromir smiled wearily at the hobbit. "I'd like to, but I'd rather wait until the rest of the fellowship is awake, but thanks." Frodo just nodded and returned to the sleeping quarters. It was still quiet and there was no emotion from the others.
The ring bearer was about to sit down when a low moan suddenly sounded. His heart immediately beat faster. What was that? Were they in danger? Frodo looked around vigilantly but saw nothing. Another groan. Only now was the hobbit localizing where it came from. Legolas! He immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the blonde elf, ignorant of exactly what he wanted to do. Relief flowed through the hobbit's heart when he looked into two familiar blue eyes. Legolas was alive! The beautiful elf blinked several times before moving slightly just to make a face. Frodo bit his lip in concern. What should he do now? Legolas was obviously in pain and only Aragorn could do anything about it. But he was still asleep and the hobbit knew that the man had it more than necessary.
"Good morning, Frodo," suddenly came a soft, warm voice. The ring bearer smiled slightly.
"Hello, Legolas. Can I do something for you?" Frodo was more than happy that the elf was awake and wanted to do everything that he was soon well again. Legolas gave him a tired smile. "Some water would be good." Frodo nodded and could understand it really well.
"I'll give it to you right away, but the best thing to do is wake Strider first." The prince nodded with a small smile and looked at his hand, which was still in Aragorn's. "How are you?", the hobbit asked concerned now.
"Good," Legolas said quietly before turning back to his friend. Frodo knelt next to the young man and shook his shoulder lightly. To his surprise, the human immediately blinked and looked sleepily at the hobbit.
"Frodo? Did something happen?" Apparently Aragorn was incredibly tense and always vigilant even in his sleep. The ring bearer was about to say something when Aragorn with a "Legolas!" jumped to his feet.
