This is quite a short chapter, but the next one will be longer. Thank you to everyone for the reviews, they are very much appreciated.
I'm sure that all the fans of the movie were dissappointed with the Oscar results, I know I was, but we've still got two years to go!
Chapter 9
"Aragorn?"
Arwen's faint, yet familiar voice reached him from where he leant in the courtyard, beside a small fountain that continuously spouted clear sparkling water. He didn't reply but kept his eyes on the fountain, watching the water jump into the air in droplets, only to fall back down into the shimmering pool in a flurry of splashing ripples. Never-ending and eternal, an endless circuit...
"Aragorn?"
The closeness of the voice startled him and he jumped in surprise. Arwen rested her hand on his shoulder.
"I was just..." He trailed off with a sigh, unable to see the point of finishing his sentence, or indeed see the point in anything anymore.
"Where is Frodo?" Arwen asked, her sweet and soothing voice only a small comfort to him.
"I sent him back to his room, he was not really himself. I can't imagine the pain he is experiencing at moment."
"I think you can," Arwen replied softly, taking in her lover's drawn and haggard face, wreathed in sadness and despair. Aragorn met her eyes and she returned his gaze with concern,
"Did you tell Frodo about Sam leaving?"
"No." Aragorn answered in murmur, "It would have destroyed him to hear it."
"Can't you go after him?"
Aragorn shook his head, "Sam has taken the swiftest of horses. He will be far away by now..."
"You cannot lose hope so easily!" Arwen disputed, the slightest flare of anger awake in her eyes, "Send Legolas, he rides swifter than any of our kind!"
"Arwen," Aragorn said in a slow and grieved voice, "Hope is already lost."
Arwen considered him for a few moments, searching his face,
"No," She said finally, her eyes narrow, "No Aragorn, hope is only lost if you lose faith, and I know that you would not lose faith so readily."
Her tone softened as she took in Aragorn's tired eyes and weary features,
"You are grieved over the death of Gandalf," She told him quietly, "And you are worried about Frodo, but you cannot give up! Somewhere beyond here your friend is alone, searching for something that he will not find without your help, and if you don't send someone to Sam's aid you will be giving up on him and Frodo, and you will be betraying Gandalf's wish."
Aragorn surveyed her with silent wonder and respect, feeling such love for her that could not be voiced with simple words.
"Very well," He said, the faintest trace of hope creeping into his voice and the despondency beginning to lift from his eyes, "I will send Legolas after Sam, and maybe if luck goes our way, he will find him in time."
Arwen smiled serenely, in obvious approval of Aragorn's decision,
"Then go now," She told him, "There is not a moment to spare, for even as we speak Sam is slipping from our grasp."
Aragorn nodded and hurried from the courtyard, leaving Arwen alone in the peaceful silence, broken only by the sound of water trickling over stone from the fountain beside her.
***
Loneliness was the main emotion that Frodo was feeling as he sat on his bed in the late hours of the morning, completely alone in his silent room. He had recovered from earlier that day when Aragorn had found him in Gandalf's room, exhausted from grief and barely conscious. Now he was in need of the sight of a friendly face, but none of his friends had come to visit him and he didn't feel that he had the strength to walk around at the moment.
He was still very much in shock from Gandalf's death. He felt that something was missing from him, as if someone had ripped a chunk from his soul. He didn't know whether he should be sad or angry. All he felt was an incessant solitude and the pull of the ring beginning to build once again, stronger and more persistent than ever before...
Finally, just when he was about to gather his strength and try and find Sam, Frodo heard voices from beneath his balcony. Shakily he walked out into the bright sunlight and crouched down low so that he could hear what they were saying. He instantly recognised the voice as Aragorn's,
"...he must be quite far away by now, so you must ride harder than you ever have before. This is extremely important, Legolas."
"And if I can't find him?"
"Keep looking. If you find Sam then there is still hope for Frodo, if not..."
There was a brief silence, then,
"I understand. I'll go straight away."
"Thankyou Legolas, may luck be on your side."
Frodo heard the footsteps fading and he leant dizzily against the smooth wall of the balcony, his heart thudding. Sam had gone to Mordor alone to try and save him. He hit his head on the wall in frustration, hating himself for not guessing what Sam would do. The dizziness increased but he did not wait for it to subside.
With all the strength in his frail limbs, Frodo pushed himself to his feet and hurriedly left the room. He hastened down the staircase to the courtyard and made his way to the stables as fast as his legs would allow.
Frodo found Legolas securing the bridle of his Palomino, and the elf raised his head in surprise when he heard the hobbit's clumbsy feet enter the stable.
"Frodo!" He exclaimed, his face puzzled, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm coming with you," Frodo told him, managing to keep his voice steady, but having to lean on the door for support as the blackness threatened to cloud his eyes.
Legolas considered him, taking in his skeletal figure, his wheezing breath and the faded look in his eyes,
"No Frodo," He replied gently, leading the horse out of the stable. Frodo followed him into the sunlit yard,
"You can't stop me," He argued, his face pale but determined.
Legolas knew perfectly well that he could simply mount and gallop away before the hobbit had a chance to protest, but something in the depths of his heart was telling him to wait,
"Frodo," He reasoned, "You're sick, the journey may very well kill you!"
"I've looked death in the face more than a few times in the past," Frodo answered as Legolas rose onto the horse, "I'm not scared."
Legolas let out a deep sigh,
"It will be very hard going, I'll be riding extremely fast..."
Frodo saw that he was weakening, "Please Legolas, you must let me come!"
Legolas shook his head, his face full of genuine sympathy, before digging his heels deep into the horse's sides so that it reared and broke into an immediate gallop. Frodo quickly dodged into its path and the horse reared again, nearly trampling the hobbit, but Frodo stood his ground and glared up at the elf defiantly,
"Frodo!" Legolas said in exasperation, trying to calm his horse, "Get out of the way!"
"No!" Frodo replied, his arms flung out and his breath coming out in gasps, "I won't!"
Legolas shut his eyes, thinking quickly. With a defeated sigh he dismounted and faced Frodo squarely, and the hobbit's eyes never left his own.
"Alright," Legolas told him simply and the hobbit nodded in thanks, though he swayed slightly, as if he was going to faint. Legolas quickly hoisted him up onto the horse before sitting behind him and seizing the reins.
"Now hold on to the mane tightly," The elf said, "I'm not going to go any slower than I usually would."
"I didn't ask you to," Frodo replied, clutching the horse's silky mane in his hands.
"Aragorn is going to kill me..." Legolas muttered to himself, before kicking the horse once more. It lunged into a rapid gallop and Frodo felt the wind whip back his hair and water streaming from his eyes.
Unsure of whether he was doing the right thing, Legolas urged the horse away from the House of Elrond and into the wilderness, to find Sam.
Next chapter up soon