First of all, I really want to apologise for the length of this chapter, I know this is much shorter than the other times, but I was too overbooked to write more. So sorry.

This is centered around Frodo and the others and you will find some Thranduil content in the end, 'cause I've decided to include him and the Mirkwood Elves in the story.

Thank you again for all the lovely feedback and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter !

"Gandalf ? Do we agree that Minas Morgul is the place where the Na... Nagazûls live ?" Pippin asked in a worried tone. Gandalf sighed.

"Yes. For the third time, young Peregrin, yes, it is the place where the Nazgûls live." the Wizard answered in a sharp and perhaps slightly annoyed voice.

"Then why are we going there ?"

Gandalf closed his eyes for a moment, unsure if he was supposed to laugh or yell at the young Hobbit. Fortunately, Merry answered before he could say anything :

"Do you prefer to go through the Black Gates, Pip' ? With all the Orcs awaiting for us ?"

The youngest Hobbit shivered at the thought.

"Of course not !" he replied hastily, "But are you sure there is no other way ?"

Gandalf let out one of the greatest sigh Middle Earth had ever heard.

'Fool of a Took.'

Frodo brought a hand to his chest and moaned involuntarily as he felt another wave of burning sensation overtaking his body. But that was not much compared to what he had been through before, no. What was getting worse, however, was Its weight. The closer they got to Mount Doom, the heavier It became, and this left the young Hobbit exhausted quite rapidly. Much too rapidly in And there was also this feeling of being constantly watched that had now completely overtook Frodo's mind and, truth to be told, Gollum did nothing to help it, for it kept shooting the Hobbit yearning glances. Yet, Frodo could not be too mad at the poor creature.

Oh ! He knew all too well what kind of effects did the One Ring have on someone's spirit. Lady Galadriel herself had seemed to have trouble resisting Its lure.

For now, the young Hobbit considered himself quite lucky, in a way, for every time the Ring tried to take his mind back into this dark and evil world, he could count on every one of his companions to bring him back to reality. He was so fortunate to have them here.

If only there had been truly everyone here...

The simple fact of not being able to tell if their friends were alive or not made Frodo's stomach twist.

The Hobbit was suddenly brought out of his reverie when he felt Gandalf's strong hand upon his chest. He looked around him, quite surprised to see they were in a forest, now. Gandalf had told him they would surely cross the forests of Ithilien. This was surely it. But how could have he been so distracted not to realise were they were ? Another side effect of being the Ring-bearer, apparently.

"Gandalf ? What is-..." he began but stopped immediately when he saw the Wizard bringing a finger to his lips and then pointing at Sméagol in front of them. Frodo frowned. The creature had stopped and was looking frantically around him, as if sensing some kind of danger. He perfectly knew that this added with the wave of burning he had felt could not be a coincidence...

"Mister Frodo... Your sword !" Sam called, shakingly pointing at the sheath on Frodo's belt. The Hobbit stared at it for some seconds in fear before slowly grabbing the sword handle and unsheathing Sting. His breath got caught in his throat at the sight. It was shining bright blue. There were Orcs in the woods.

"Oh no no no..." Pippin whispered in despair.

"Hide behind a tree ! Put your elven cloaks on ! Hurry !" Gandalf ordered while gently pushing the Hobbits on behind a quite large oak, Gollum still preceding them and looking completely terrified.

And suddenly, an awful cry rang. Frodo gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, desperately grasping Sting in his hands, awaiting for the worse. But, surprisingly, the fight never came and soon, the sound of clashing swords echoed in the woods behind them.

"Get them !" an unknown voice yelled.

"The Rangers..." Gandalf whispered, relief evident in his voice

"Faramir's Rangers ?" Pippin asked the Wizard quite excitingly.

"I guess so, yes, young Took."

A small yelp of joy escaped the youngest Hobbit. Faramir had told him so much about them !

Soon enough, the fight ended. But unfortunately, the companions had absolutely no mean to guess who had won.

"Stay there." Gandalf simply stated before walking out of the tree.

Frodo involuntarily swallowed in apprehension. He did not like when Gandalf left him alone like that. He felt so vulnerable.

"Don't worry, mister Frodo. He will be back in a minute," Sam tried to reassure his Master, sensing his uneasiness and gently grabbing his shoulder.

"Thank you, Sam," he replied gratefully.

"Ssstupid, nasssty Orcsss !" Gollum suddenly shouted for no apparent reason. Every Hobbit jumped in surprise. That was unexpected. Why on Middle Earth...?

"You may come out !" Gandalf's voice interrupted. Frodo breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard the Wizard's deep and reassuring voice, "The Orcs have been defeated."

Deveron hissed an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of the five creatures that were following Mithrandir. They looked so small... And one of them... Deveron had to admit an involuntary wince of disgust appeared on his face. So thin, so pale, so... ugly. Unfortunately, there was no other word to describe it. And the way it was looking at the Rangers was not really appealing.

"Young Hobbits, meet Deveron, second in Command of Faramir, and current Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien until Faramir's return." Mithrandir told the four little ones. Deveron smiled as they all attempted to bow shyly at him.

"It is an honour to meet you, young ones," the second in command answered gently, "Though I hoped it had been in better times." he then added sadly.

"Deveron, how is the situation in Gondor ?" Gandalf asked quite suspiciously. Deveron lowered his head in mild-despair, but did not answer.

"Deveron ?" the Istar insisted. The Ranger had, unfortunately, no choice but to answer.

"Osgiliath has been lost. The Orcs are everywhere. The Steward has gone completely mad. He does not eat, does not sleep, he spends his entire time locked in his tower to stare at this... Palantír. He has even forbidden us to attack the Orcs."

"Then I see you have inherited your Captain's stubbornness and rebellious mind." Gandalf noted humourously, yet you could easily see the great trouble all over his face.

"Not exactly. The Rangers have been banished." Deveron explained. Even now, the words were difficult to pronounce and a single tear rolled down his cheek. For him, it was like if Gondor had just vanished with the Steward's sons.

Thranduil's head shot up when he heard the desperate plea and cries of pain from the trees. He got up from his throne and rushed outside, afraid of what he would learn. Maybe Legolas, his dear Greenleaf, was in danger, maybe-...

Thranduil gasped when he heard what the trees were trying to tell him.

Lothlórien was under attack.

There you go ! Again I am so so sorry for this much shorter chapter, but I'm moving Thursday and I simply didn't have the time to write more. I hope you still liked it ! Stay safe !