I do not own The Lord of the Rings or any of the characters

Chapter 6

The next few days were far less worrying for Gandalf and Aragorn, and they finally began to feel more reassured that Frodo and Sam were on the mend. The two hobbits journeyed to Rivendell with Legolas on his impressive palomino steed that didn't seem to notice the extra weight and flew swiftly back to the house of Elrond.

Elrond himself warmly greeted them when they arrived, immediately making sure that anything they needed was brought to them instantly. Indeed, the hobbits were beginning to feel like royalty, and whereas Frodo was nearly as weary as before and still feeling the power of the ring, Sam began to feel uncomfortable with all the attention. He spent several days exploring Rivendell either on his own or with Merry and Pippin, simply because the heroic treatment he was receiving from the residents was so strange and overwhelming for him.

His shoulder was healing satisfactorily and he was beginning to feel the strength returning to his mind and body. Frodo was also recovering, he could rise from his bed for a few hours a day to get fresh air, but he was terribly thin and didn't seem to have an appetite. Sam was growing increasingly worried for his Master but he kept a cheerful front and kept Frodo company when he wasn't sleeping, entertaining him with a song or a poem or just simple talk of the Shire. Frodo seemed to depend almost entirely on Sam for support and when Sam left him when it was time for Frodo to rest, his face looked wrenched with sorrow and some sort of unknown fear.

After several weeks at Rivendell, Frodo seemed strong enough to get up and wander through the grounds with Sam. They walked at a light pace, and Frodo's worried expression seemed to lift and he was Frodo of the Shire again and this was just another spring walk with his friend. The fresh air seemed to do him good and they conversed merrily as they walked, taking in everything, from the white marble bridges and gushing river to the tall and thin trees that towered above them with an ethereal prescense.

They stopped beneath the shade of a stooping willow by the stream to eat. They had brought thick chunks of bread, wedges of cheese and slices of salted meats, and when Sam rummaged in the bottom of their satchel he produced several wafers of lemba with a laugh,

"Oh Mr.Frodo, do you remember that terrible time we had in Mordor when we ate nothing but lembas for days?"

"Yes, I think I remember the lembas more than anything else," Frodo replied with a slight smile, leaning against the tree, "I cannot stand the sight of them anymore, let alone bring myself to eat them. There was a lot of things that happened in Mordor that changed me. Is it the same for you?"

"I s'pose," Sam replied slowly, as if he was thinking, "I think the biggest change has been that I appreciate things more now. Just to have a nice plate of fried fish and chips round the table at Bag End..."

He trailed off, noticing the odd expression on his friend's face,

"Mr Frodo?"

Frodo looked into Sam's face with his sad blue eyes,

"You just made me think of Gollum," He admitted, "When we were captured by Faramir and Gollum was trying to fish out of the pool..."

To Sam the warm air seemed to turn chilly, and he shivered,

"Don't think about such things, Mr Frodo, he isn't worth thinking about."

"I wish I understood," Frodo murmured, closing his eyes, "No one has explained anything to me yet, and I don't understand how I got to be here, or how you came to be here. All I remember is jumping off a ship into water so freezing cold it is unimaginable, and then I remember running away from something, though it wasn't a person, but it had all the strength of a person and more..."

Sam smiled sympathetically and faced his master squarely,

"I do not fully understand myself," He admitted, "But I'll tell you what I know..."

"The ring didn't lose its entire power when it was consumed by the fires of Mordor. It still has the power to give the last person who beared it the strength to seek revenge on one chosen person. Seeing as Gollum was the last to bear the ring, he has the power and he is seeking revenge on you, drawing you to Mordor where is is supposedly dwelling. Legolas came to the Shire and told me this news and I was taken back to Rivendell. Gollum had been sighted, or so they told me, and we decided to enact a plan to kill him. We were going to trap him at the Ford and shoot him, but it turned out that it wasn't Gollum that had been sighted at all, it was you, and we didn't realise until the last minute..."

"But I don't understand..." Frodo murmured, "How could they possibly think I was Gollum?"

"Come now Mr Frodo," Sam replied cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood, "Even I thought you were Gollum for a moment. You've become so thin lately, and you were hunched up so small..."

"The ring is trying to kill me?" Frodo asked him suddenly, trying to make his voice clear and unafraid but unable to stop it breaking. The silence that followed answered his question,

"And it has such power that it will suceed. You should have let me take that arrow at the ford Sam, it wasn't meant for you."

Sam didn't have an immediate reply to this so he thought deeply, chewing absently on a piece of bread. Eventually he spoke, and when he did his voice was filled with fondness and love and all the other feelings he felt towards his master,

"Mr Frodo, I myself don't know exactly what happened at the Ford, or whether or not that arrow was meant for you or me or anyone else, but I know that all the time we were in Mordor I would have given my life to save you and now is no different. Maybe Gollum will eventually find you and kill you, but before he does he will have to kill me and the whole business with the ring has toughened me up considerably in my opinion. What I'm trying to say Mr Frodo is..."

He searched for the right words whilst Frodo watched him with growing fondness,

"...Well what I'm trying to say is, you've got a lot of friends that care about you, and if that nasty creature comes for you, then he will have to be prepared to fight for you."

He glanced at Frodo, feeling slightly self-conscious and Frodo smiled, a true wide smile.

"Sam..." He started, looking at a loss for words. Sam hastily came to his aid,

"We'd better be packing up to leave Mr. Frodo, I promised Gandalf I'd have you home for sunset and we've come a long way this morning, it will take us a good few hours to get back."

He wrapped the remainders of the food in a cloth and put it carefully into his satchel before helping Frodo to his feet. He was immediatly worried by the lightness of Frodo's weight but he tried not to let it show. The warmth that had seemed so promising that morning was beginning to die and the cold breeze swept around them, making Frodo shiver in his papery skin. Sam gently linked his arm through his master's.

"It's not too far Mr. Frodo, and you can ask me anything you don't understand about how be got here on the way."

"Thankyou Sam," Frodo said simply, and Sam smiled back warmly.

Next chapter up soon