Here's chapter 15 ! It is centered around Gandalf, Frodo and the others this time. You'll find a bit of Sam's POV in it, hope you'll enjoy !
"Please ! Get it off ! It hurtss, it burnss uss ! Argh !"
Frodo closed his eyes and winced as he heard the pained and pitiful shout of the poor creature.
"Gandalf ?" he asked softly, turning to face the Wizard, "Does it really have to bear that rope ?"
Gandalf sighed under his beard. Why did all the Bagginses keep pitying this creature ?
"I'm afraid it has to, yes. Gollum is a clever and malicious creature. If we do not keep it attached, I can promise you he will try to tear the Ring from your neck as soon as we have our backs turned." the Wizard explained.
"And what if it walks ahead of us ? We will not have our backs turned to him."
Gandalf smiled at the very Hobbit-like comment before finally coming to a stop and grabbing the young Hobbit by his shoulders.
"I understand your pity, young Baggins, but if Gollum managed to escape the vigilance of the Woodelves-..."
"Please, please, young Hobbitses ! Free poor Sméagol from this torture !"
"No !" Sam's voice rang, "You're getting what you deserve !"
"Gandalf, please..." Frodo tried again. The Wizard closed his eyes, thinking. On one hand, freeing Gollum might prove very dangerous for both Frodo's and the Ring's safety, but on the other hand, Gandalf had to admit he was getting quite tired of the constant shouting and screaming. But more importantly, that might help the Orcs or any other enemy to spot them, and he could not let that be. He wished there had been another way, but apparently, there wasn't.
"Very well," he finally agreed after a long silence. The Grey cloaked man then went to the seemingly harmless creature and knelt before it.
"Listen to my words very carefully," he began in a sharp tone, his brow furrowed, "I am going get this rope off you."
Gollum's face suddenly brightened and it smiled, while Sam's, Merry's and Pippin's bore a look of deep confusion and disbelief.
"But I make myself very clear," Gandalf continued, "You will lead us through the Dead Marshes and even further if you are needed. And shall you ever try to trick us or to get close to Frodo and the Ring again, I will not hesitate to cast a spell on you, put the rope back around your neck and destroy the Ring forever !"
Gollum's smile immediately left his face. Apparently, it ignored the fact that Gandalf had no mean to destroy its Precious other than throwing It into the flames of Mount Doom.
'This feels just like if I were talking to a child...' the Grey Pilgrim couldn't help but think in slight amusement.
"What does we do, my Preciousss ?" the creature began to ask itself, which made the others to sigh in annoyance.
"That rope burns usss..." it answered in a pitiful and pained voice.
"But the Hobbit has It, and we want It back !" an angry voice continued. If one had heard the creature without seeing it, he would have surely thought there were two of them, not just only one, for the two voices sounded much different.
"But the elvses are hurting us so much with that ssstupid rope !" the pained one came again. The creature then fell silent and stared at the Wizard before it, an unreadable look on its face.
"Sméagol accepts." it eventually agreed angrily.
"Good. But remember my words !" warned the Wizard while carefully freeing Gollum from the source of his pain.
"Thank you." he heard Frodo speak softly behind him.
Pippin kept his head low while they were walking. He had been doing so since the moment they had had to leave the others to face the Orcs on the eastern shore of the river. All his friends... Abandoned to a certain death. The thought was breaking his heart. It had all happened so fast. One minute, they were peacefully rowing down the river, the other, they were broken apart, never to see each others again. Pippin could not believe he would not see his friends again. Maybe a part of him didn't want to believe it...
'Faramir didn't even have time to teach me how to bowshoot correctly...'
The young Hobbit's mind drifted off into memories.
"Come on, Peregrin, pull the rope. The wood will not break, I can assure you."
"Hold it and aim, now."
"Perfect. Now release the arrow."
"You see ? You nearly got it. With a little more practice, you will be able to surpass Boromir very quickly. Even though that is not a very hard task..."
"I heard that, brother !"
Pippin sighed and wiped away the tears on his face. No ! He had to stay hopeful. Why was he thinking so negatively ? Mayhap the others had miraculously survived the assault...
'Seeing the bad side of things, just like men would. Come on Pip' ! Do not focus on this, focus on something else. You have always been good at positivity. Come on, think about... Merry ! You still have Merry with you, and... Frodo ! Yes ! And Sam, too ! Oh ! And there's Gandalf ! He will protect you, right ? You see ? It is not that complicated...!'
But as soon as he was finished, his dark thoughts came back again.
'Though... Gandalf may protect you, but who will protect Faramir, Boromir, Strider, Gimli and Legolas ? They are lost, and we barely had time to truly know each other. Like Legolas ! I haven't spoke with Legolas ! I know nothing of him, except that... He's an elf... He's good at shooting and killing Orcs... He can walk on snow, and... He has a girlfriend, apparently ? Or maybe she's his sister ? Or a relative ? Nay, I don't know that... Oh ! He didn't like dwarves at first ! About that... I don't know much about Gimli either... He had a cousin... Who's dead... and he... seems pretty good at killing Orcs... But everyone else is, in fact... Saved us, the Hobbits... How are we going to do without them ? Four Hobbits, a Wizard and a... thing. That's just perfect ! And where are we supposed to go ? Mordor. With the Eye and all those silly stupid Orcs. How am I suppose to fight them when the only person I have ever fought in my entire life is a disarmed Hobbit. I am lost, they are lost, we are all lost ! Even Gandalf won't be enough...'
Pippin had to admit his own words surprised him. That was so unlike the cheerful, pranking little Hobbit he was. He was getting different, they all were. Merry, Frodo, Sam and him. They were facing the outside world for the first time in their life. They were forced to grow up. And it was hard.
Sam gasped when he saw what was ahead of them. Marshes. Longer than he ever thought it could exist. The entire land looked dead. There were no birds singing, no flowers growing. Only grass, mudd, rocks and water. There was some kind of dark feeling emanating from this place. Like if something really bad had happened here. Something terrible, deadly.
"Welcome, my dear Hobbits, to the Dead Marshes." the voice of Gandalf rose theatrically. They all came to a stop, even the creature Gollum, like if it were awaiting for them to move on and follow it.
"What happened here ?" Sam spoke out loud the question that had been filling his mind.
"The Battle of Dagorlad, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men." was the only answer he was given, with no explanation, "Lead us the way, Sméagol." the Wizard then ordered the thin creature which reluctantly began to... walk ? No, crawl on the ground before them, followed closely by Gandalf. Sam had to admit he still did not understand how Mister Frodo could pity that filthy creature. It was nasty, stupid, dangerous and it's globulous eyes were filled only with malice and cruelty.
"And be careful," Gandalf spoke to the Hobbits, turning around so that he was facing them, "Do not look into the water nor touch anything."
Easier said than done, for a small light on Sam's right kept enlightening his eyes, forcing him to look at it. At first, the Hobbit resisted it, but eventually and unknowingly, he gave up and involuntarily jumped backwards at the sight. A-A... A dead body, no... Two ! Three ! Four ! They were everywhere in the water !
Sam could turn his head only when he heard a scream escaping his three companions lips. They had followed his gaze. Gandalf turned around too at the sound and his eyes opened wide when he saw what the Hobbits were looking at.
"Turn you heads ! Now ! I told you not to look !"
But none of them moved away. In fact, they seemed to be getting closer, especially Frodo. The bodies were calling... They had to go to them... To simply... Touch them... Only once... Join them... That was the only thing they had to do.
Sam was suddenly brought out of his trance as he felt strong hands shaking him by the shoulders and heard a voice yell :
"Get away !"
The young Hobbit became very aware of his surroundings once more and turned to see where his companions were. He found Frodo, knelt on the edge of the water, his Ring hanging above it.
"Mister Frodo !" the Hobbit yelled as he ran to his Master and roughly pulled him back. Frodo gasped and quickly put the Ring back into his shirt, immediately noticing the way Gollum was eyeing at it and he then gave Sam a suspicious look.
'Oh, Mister Frodo, what is this thing doing to you ?'
Sam knew very well his Master would have never acted this way before. He would have never suspected his loyal gardener of anything. But slowly, the suspicion left the Ringbearer's eyes and was replaced by a grateful look.
"Thank you, Sam."
"It's nothing, Sir."
"You fools !" Gandalf's voice interrupted. Sam lifted his head only to meet the Wizard's angered gaze.
"I told you not to look at it ! Do you know what would have happened if you had touched the water ? You would have disappeared ! Forever !"
Pippin was sobbing quietly on their right, comforted by the gentle embrace his cousin Merry was giving him.
"I'm sorry, Sir," Sam bravely spoke, "It is my fault, I am the one who looked first."
Gandalf opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud shriek in the air, which made Frodo yell in pain and become deathly white.
"A Nazgûl. Hide under your cloaks !" the Wizard's authoritative voice ordered, urgency clearly hearable in it. The Hobbits rapidly obeyed and Sam had to hide Frodo, too, under his cloak, for he had fallen limp once more. The last thing the young gardener saw before disappearing under the soft cloth was Gollum desperately hiding under a lonely rock.
There you are ! I hope you liked this part, the next one will be about our Fellows in Rohan. My hand is not completely healed yet, so I'm not sure I'll be able to update on Saturday, but I'll try.I hope you and your families are all well in this difficult time.