"I am slipping. I am dying. The ring. The precious. It must return to it's master," a voice called in the darkness.
Arathoniel turned again and again, trying her best to clear her head. To see what could not be seen. To part the darkness that clouded her mind. The voice that she heard was familiar to her. She'd heard it many times over. Why could she not put her mind to this? Why could she not part the darkness enough to see to whom the voice belonged?
There was pain. A sudden pain. A white, blinding light and intense pain. She felt herself fall to the ground as the pain began to take hold. She grasped small patches of the ground until her fingers found flesh. Not just flesh, no, their was hair as well. Her lids were heavy as she tried desperately to pull them open.
By the grace of the Valar, no. NO! It must not be!
She crawled forward as quickly as her limbs would carry her, the pain racking her tall, slim frame. She rested a hand on the wound just above her dearest friend's heart. "Frodo," she whispered, "Frodo, no. What has happened? How has this happened?"
"The ring. It must return to it's master. The master of the One Ring calls forth for its return. The pain. It is too much. The ring. The pain," his words trailed into naught more than meaningless gasps.
Wraiths. The Nazgul. How had they found Frodo? Why was Gandalf not protecting this halfling? And where was Strider?
"No, Frodo, hear me. Hear my words, my voice. You called to me, my friend, in your need and now you MUST hear my words. You MUST hold strong. Though there is fear, the ring has no power over you. It holds no sway over you, my sweet one. You have the strength to defend yourself against its power. And you must. You mustn't allow this ring to destroy who you are, what you are. Give me the pain, Frodo. Send the pain to your oldest friend. I can take this pain. Simply give it over to me."
Her hand covered the wound created by a Morgul blade carefully, drawing the intense sadness and pain into her body. She was suddenly racked with it as she fell forward, her body covering that of Frodo's. Her world slowly went black again as his words faded into nothingness.