Frodo got help to get up on the tall horse before Anarhin sat behind him and grabbed the end of the reins. The elf, brother of prince Legolas, quickly proved what a skillfull rider he indeed was and the horse ran like the wind away from the brickmade cottage where Frodo had awoken. He did not feel like asking questions about the house, but was curious to know what it was doing so close to the boarder to Mordor and why Frodo was locked up in this cold room. He waited with the questions until their break, but it never seemed to be one.
As if the elf could read the little Hobbit's mind he asked: "Do you need rest?"
"Yes please, and a little water if you do not mind"
Anarhin gave the horse commands and it stopped by the same rocks Sam had been by when he had been eves dropping on the orchs. Frodo did not know this until he found something shiny on the ground, almost completely covered with dirt.
He brushed it off and took a close look at it while Anarhin digged through his package to find his waterbottle. This elf was the best rider of all Mirkwood elves and the son of a king, but surely he was not organized.
Frodo wanted to cry when he found Sam's memory of Bill, the horse they had bought in Bree after tricking the black knigts.
The memory which was some sort of decoration for the saddle had been broken in two.
When Frodo put the two pieces together he saw the image of a small leaf and the letters "S.G." carved in it. A single tear rolled over Frodo's cheek and fell on to the steel of which the button was made.
Anarhin returned with a leather bag full of water and handed it to the sad Hobbit with a concerned expression in his face.
"Is it your friend?" He asked as softly as he could.
Frodo nodded and grabbed the bottle. "Yes, I am very worried about him Master Anarhin"
Anarhin squatted down with a weak smile. "He is surely alive, but other things worry me about your friend Frodo. There is a creature following him and he is not far from Mt. Doom, maybe 2 or 4 days, it depends on the conditions with his energy"
"He is alive then?" Frodo asked and a little bit of hope filled his heart. "Isn't he?"
"Yes he is alive Frodo"
"Who is following him?"
"I do not know. It is an evil creature and he uses his nose as a dog would do"
"Gollum!" Frodo burst out. "It is Gollum!"
Anarhin stood up took a step back. "Is this Gollum a creature you know of?"
"He guided me and Sam from Emyn Muil to the Shelob's cave where he decieved us"
Anarhin just nodded and looked thoughtful. He turned his back to Frodo and looked North.
"But Sam wounded him, he must be weak now"
"Sméagol, or Gollum as he is also called, is not easily wounded" Anarhin spoke. "I should have known it was him. Many have he killed..." he said and turned back to Frodo . "... and many will he kill"
"Please Mr. Anarhin, do not speak that way, not when Sam is so near this monster, I want to keep the little hope that remains"
"Yes of course, forgive me Mr. Baggins"
Frodo drunk some of the water in Anarhin's leather bag and dried off his mouth with the back of his hand.
"We must follow your friend, it is not safe to stop now, can you make it another few hours?" Anarhin asked the hobbit.
Frodo nodded slowly. "As long as Sam is alive I will not rest"
"Good, there will be little rest for master Gamgee is in danger I fear"
These words made Frodo's energy return and without Anarhin's help he managed to get up on the horse. Anarhin laughed softly at the sight.
"You are a brave Hobbit Master Baggins, I must say"
"Sam is my best friend" Frodo replied. "I can not abandon him"
Anarhin smiled and grabbed the reins and commanded in elvish:
"Rima sii' Malsul, Asca ar' dina!"
The horse practically flew by those words and before an hour had passed they were far from their resting place. Frodo could not deny it amazed him.
"Where have you learnt to ride like this?" Frodo asked with curiousity.
"Rohan my friend, the land of horses, but my rider is from the forest of Lothlorién"
Frodo decided not ask any more questions, but he was beginning to feel tired and two or so hours later his eyelids were as heavy as lead.
"I can not stay awake for very long now" he mumbled halfway in to slumber.
He remembered Old Man Willow and how tired the woods made him, then how Merry and Pippin got stuck in its crack. This was almost the same feeling, he was covered by the feeling of worry and tiredness.
While Anarhin tried to keep Frodo on the horse, but still ride Frodo was in a worried slumber.
Frodo was standing by a hole in the ground and fires were flaming up from it.
All of a sudden he heard a shout for help and recognized the voice immedietly.
"Help mister Frodo!! Down here!"
The voice came from the burning hole.
Frodo got down on his knees and bent over the edge as much as he could without getting too close to the burning flames.
Sam was not there and in the next second he could see a tall dark shadow against the mountain wall. He had no chance to flee before he was falling in to the fire...
Frodo woke up with a jump and found himself laying on a cloak with his head on a bag and the sky was dark and starless. Anarhin was sitting calmly on the ground a few feet away from Frodo, caught up in a book.
"Anarhin..." Frodo whispered and the elf turned his head. A smile spread on his face and he got up to sit by Frodo instead.
"It was getting hard holding you on my horse" he said. "But I had not the heart to awake you"
"If you only had" Frodo sighed and sat up.
"Dreams are not always what they seem" Anarhin told him and put the book down on the ground.
"How do you know they are not?"
"In one way or another they always diffuse reality" Anarhin said, but then his face turned to a concerned expression. "The dream may seem worse... or better than reality"
"Better?" Frodo burst out. "I do not think anything could be worse than what the dream showed me"
Anarhin stood up. "Maybe so. I do not want to worry you my friend, but it is not even safe for an evil orch to live long in Mordor"
"I do not want to think that Sam is dead Anarhin, it would not be fair, it would not be FAIR!" Frodo raised his voice, but then calmed down and hid his face in his dirty hands.
"It would not be fair" he said again through his tears.
"Not everything is fair in life Frodo and Sauron does not know what that means, neither do his orchs. They have no emotions, they only do what they are told by their leader"
"Oh Sam..." Frodo sobbed to himself.
As if the elf could read the little Hobbit's mind he asked: "Do you need rest?"
"Yes please, and a little water if you do not mind"
Anarhin gave the horse commands and it stopped by the same rocks Sam had been by when he had been eves dropping on the orchs. Frodo did not know this until he found something shiny on the ground, almost completely covered with dirt.
He brushed it off and took a close look at it while Anarhin digged through his package to find his waterbottle. This elf was the best rider of all Mirkwood elves and the son of a king, but surely he was not organized.
Frodo wanted to cry when he found Sam's memory of Bill, the horse they had bought in Bree after tricking the black knigts.
The memory which was some sort of decoration for the saddle had been broken in two.
When Frodo put the two pieces together he saw the image of a small leaf and the letters "S.G." carved in it. A single tear rolled over Frodo's cheek and fell on to the steel of which the button was made.
Anarhin returned with a leather bag full of water and handed it to the sad Hobbit with a concerned expression in his face.
"Is it your friend?" He asked as softly as he could.
Frodo nodded and grabbed the bottle. "Yes, I am very worried about him Master Anarhin"
Anarhin squatted down with a weak smile. "He is surely alive, but other things worry me about your friend Frodo. There is a creature following him and he is not far from Mt. Doom, maybe 2 or 4 days, it depends on the conditions with his energy"
"He is alive then?" Frodo asked and a little bit of hope filled his heart. "Isn't he?"
"Yes he is alive Frodo"
"Who is following him?"
"I do not know. It is an evil creature and he uses his nose as a dog would do"
"Gollum!" Frodo burst out. "It is Gollum!"
Anarhin stood up took a step back. "Is this Gollum a creature you know of?"
"He guided me and Sam from Emyn Muil to the Shelob's cave where he decieved us"
Anarhin just nodded and looked thoughtful. He turned his back to Frodo and looked North.
"But Sam wounded him, he must be weak now"
"Sméagol, or Gollum as he is also called, is not easily wounded" Anarhin spoke. "I should have known it was him. Many have he killed..." he said and turned back to Frodo . "... and many will he kill"
"Please Mr. Anarhin, do not speak that way, not when Sam is so near this monster, I want to keep the little hope that remains"
"Yes of course, forgive me Mr. Baggins"
Frodo drunk some of the water in Anarhin's leather bag and dried off his mouth with the back of his hand.
"We must follow your friend, it is not safe to stop now, can you make it another few hours?" Anarhin asked the hobbit.
Frodo nodded slowly. "As long as Sam is alive I will not rest"
"Good, there will be little rest for master Gamgee is in danger I fear"
These words made Frodo's energy return and without Anarhin's help he managed to get up on the horse. Anarhin laughed softly at the sight.
"You are a brave Hobbit Master Baggins, I must say"
"Sam is my best friend" Frodo replied. "I can not abandon him"
Anarhin smiled and grabbed the reins and commanded in elvish:
"Rima sii' Malsul, Asca ar' dina!"
The horse practically flew by those words and before an hour had passed they were far from their resting place. Frodo could not deny it amazed him.
"Where have you learnt to ride like this?" Frodo asked with curiousity.
"Rohan my friend, the land of horses, but my rider is from the forest of Lothlorién"
Frodo decided not ask any more questions, but he was beginning to feel tired and two or so hours later his eyelids were as heavy as lead.
"I can not stay awake for very long now" he mumbled halfway in to slumber.
He remembered Old Man Willow and how tired the woods made him, then how Merry and Pippin got stuck in its crack. This was almost the same feeling, he was covered by the feeling of worry and tiredness.
While Anarhin tried to keep Frodo on the horse, but still ride Frodo was in a worried slumber.
Frodo was standing by a hole in the ground and fires were flaming up from it.
All of a sudden he heard a shout for help and recognized the voice immedietly.
"Help mister Frodo!! Down here!"
The voice came from the burning hole.
Frodo got down on his knees and bent over the edge as much as he could without getting too close to the burning flames.
Sam was not there and in the next second he could see a tall dark shadow against the mountain wall. He had no chance to flee before he was falling in to the fire...
Frodo woke up with a jump and found himself laying on a cloak with his head on a bag and the sky was dark and starless. Anarhin was sitting calmly on the ground a few feet away from Frodo, caught up in a book.
"Anarhin..." Frodo whispered and the elf turned his head. A smile spread on his face and he got up to sit by Frodo instead.
"It was getting hard holding you on my horse" he said. "But I had not the heart to awake you"
"If you only had" Frodo sighed and sat up.
"Dreams are not always what they seem" Anarhin told him and put the book down on the ground.
"How do you know they are not?"
"In one way or another they always diffuse reality" Anarhin said, but then his face turned to a concerned expression. "The dream may seem worse... or better than reality"
"Better?" Frodo burst out. "I do not think anything could be worse than what the dream showed me"
Anarhin stood up. "Maybe so. I do not want to worry you my friend, but it is not even safe for an evil orch to live long in Mordor"
"I do not want to think that Sam is dead Anarhin, it would not be fair, it would not be FAIR!" Frodo raised his voice, but then calmed down and hid his face in his dirty hands.
"It would not be fair" he said again through his tears.
"Not everything is fair in life Frodo and Sauron does not know what that means, neither do his orchs. They have no emotions, they only do what they are told by their leader"
"Oh Sam..." Frodo sobbed to himself.