Author's Note : Okay, Okay, I said I wasn't going to update today because I didn't think I'd have time to write but certain people (I won't mention names) twisted my arm since they couldn't bear to think of poor wee Frodo lost and alone for much longer. Brave wee Hobbit, facing certain death. I'm not saying Frodo gets found in this chapter….mind you. You think I'd let you off that easy?….. Heh heh…A new chapter was begged for, and this is it. Frodo fans…hold onto your seats…this could get a bit rough. Orcs are still hunting him, and unimaginable things lurk in the darkness and shadows of the Tower. Oh yeah…I LOVE REVIEWS. Review Review Review! It shows me what you are looking for and want to see more of. If you review it, it might happen! This is as much your story as mine. This chapter Frodo's POV.
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CHAPTER 14 : Anything other than This
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I stood precariously balanced against the table, trying to get my bearings. The quick movements had caused my head to reel unexpectedly. My mind had been clear only a few moments ago. I suppose that I had not entirely been as strong as I hoped. I sighed wincing a little, and looked at the water. I had to clean and rebandage my wounds. I wasn't really all that used to taking care of myself. Someone had always been there. Bilbo, Gandalf, Sam, Aragorn…I shivered and felt the sweat trickling down my forehead. I knew I was getting worse by the minute. I staggered around the table to the basin. If there was one thing I wanted more right now it was to be clean. I dropped the rest of the old sheet on the dusty table and struggled out of the jacket.
I grimaced when I saw the bloodstains on the jacket. My back wasn't doing very well. In fact, it hurt with every move I made. I looked around the room, trying to get my bearings while I rested against the table for a moment. There were two bowls on near the bed. It had a mattress of sorts and I did see another sheet. Good…I needed that. It wasn't as badly molded as the clothing on the floor…and it would have to do. I hobbled over to grab it and took it back to the table along with the empty bowl. That's where I would squeeze the water out so I could keep it as clean as possible.
I was sweating, I felt my forehead and I knew that the fever was returning. Not -now-. I gazed helplessly at the ceiling. Anytime but -now-. I unwrapped the bandage I had haphazardly slung around my chest to stop the bleeding and dropped it on the table. At least…if I had any more rats for company they'd be attracted to that and not me.
I tried to keep my mind focused. Bag End…If I thought about the Shire…about home…but even then…it wasn't much comfort. I was in a terrible position and I didn't know if I was going to make it out. I stared at my fingernails in dismay…realizing for the first time how dreadfully grimy I was. I suppose I hadn't truly been clean since…Lothlorien…I sighed, I had lost a lot of things in the past few weeks. Galadriel was right…to be a Ringbearer -was- to be alone. If I wanted to find it again, I'd have to endure.
I splashed some of the water on my face to get a grip on my sensse and stripped the sheets and then balled one of them up into a sponge of sorts. I dipped it into the cold…clammy water and began to wash myself. I was appalled at the blood and grime came off on the rag…I almost had to wretch once…but held my stomach together. I had to get through it. I spent the next little while gritting my teeth against the cold and letting the water heal what it could. I worked carefully, trying to remember my skills. I -did- know what I was doing, its just…I'd never had to do it.
I cringed at the cold, shivering…my lips were feeling a bit numb. But at least…I was mostly clean. As clean as I really could be in this situation. I bound a strip of cloth around my shoulder to my side, and then held it in place by binding another cloth around my waist….as tightly as I could manage. There was another scar on my right leg, which was probably why I was having a hard time walking, and it amazed me that I had no broken limbs. I felt like every bone in my body had been mishandled when…I stopped myself from thinking about -that-.
Once I was well and truly bandaged, enough that I could feel no more blood I wiped my face and gazed about the room tiredly. What harm would it be to take a little nap…I was so tired. They weren't looking here anyway….Only for a few minutes.
I took a deep shuddering breath and staggered over to the bed dragging the coat with me. I curled up a little away from the wall and lay my head against the hard mattress. At least it wasn't a stone floor. I pulled the coat up around me and shivered. The smell was horrid, everything about the room that I was in was horrid. Tears sprang to my eyes as I had trouble feeling my lips…they were numb…numb with pain…like the rest of me…I'd sleep for a little while…then I'd go on. That's it…
I closed my eyes…but it wasn't long before the fever began to take a grip on me once again. It wasn't helping that I was still feeling the effects of the liquor and I began to see things…and…hear things. Shadows leapt at me from the darkness and I heard … things calling to me. The voices of the Nazghul echoed in my head and I couldn't get them out.
I would have tossed and turned but it was too painful. I couldn't really sleep…and that was when I heard it.
I turned over weakly…hearing a scraping sound on the stairs coming closer and closer to the room. Everything went through my mind at once and nearly overloaded it. I thought about all the stories and warnings that I'd had about Mordor. All the terrible creatures that lurked in the shadows. Shelob not being the least of them. I held my breathe, one step closer with each scrape, my ears were better than most, and whatever was coming…couldn't be human. I felt…felt it was hunting me. I could almost hear it sniffing in the stairwell. As I cringed…my mind fled into dark recesses. I wanted this to be over…I couldn't think anymore…I was afraid…no…absolutely terrified. I had no weapon…no means of protecting myself. I would fight though…with every last ounce of strength that I had. I closed my eyes…and prayed…
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CHAPTER 14 : Anything other than This
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I stood precariously balanced against the table, trying to get my bearings. The quick movements had caused my head to reel unexpectedly. My mind had been clear only a few moments ago. I suppose that I had not entirely been as strong as I hoped. I sighed wincing a little, and looked at the water. I had to clean and rebandage my wounds. I wasn't really all that used to taking care of myself. Someone had always been there. Bilbo, Gandalf, Sam, Aragorn…I shivered and felt the sweat trickling down my forehead. I knew I was getting worse by the minute. I staggered around the table to the basin. If there was one thing I wanted more right now it was to be clean. I dropped the rest of the old sheet on the dusty table and struggled out of the jacket.
I grimaced when I saw the bloodstains on the jacket. My back wasn't doing very well. In fact, it hurt with every move I made. I looked around the room, trying to get my bearings while I rested against the table for a moment. There were two bowls on near the bed. It had a mattress of sorts and I did see another sheet. Good…I needed that. It wasn't as badly molded as the clothing on the floor…and it would have to do. I hobbled over to grab it and took it back to the table along with the empty bowl. That's where I would squeeze the water out so I could keep it as clean as possible.
I was sweating, I felt my forehead and I knew that the fever was returning. Not -now-. I gazed helplessly at the ceiling. Anytime but -now-. I unwrapped the bandage I had haphazardly slung around my chest to stop the bleeding and dropped it on the table. At least…if I had any more rats for company they'd be attracted to that and not me.
I tried to keep my mind focused. Bag End…If I thought about the Shire…about home…but even then…it wasn't much comfort. I was in a terrible position and I didn't know if I was going to make it out. I stared at my fingernails in dismay…realizing for the first time how dreadfully grimy I was. I suppose I hadn't truly been clean since…Lothlorien…I sighed, I had lost a lot of things in the past few weeks. Galadriel was right…to be a Ringbearer -was- to be alone. If I wanted to find it again, I'd have to endure.
I splashed some of the water on my face to get a grip on my sensse and stripped the sheets and then balled one of them up into a sponge of sorts. I dipped it into the cold…clammy water and began to wash myself. I was appalled at the blood and grime came off on the rag…I almost had to wretch once…but held my stomach together. I had to get through it. I spent the next little while gritting my teeth against the cold and letting the water heal what it could. I worked carefully, trying to remember my skills. I -did- know what I was doing, its just…I'd never had to do it.
I cringed at the cold, shivering…my lips were feeling a bit numb. But at least…I was mostly clean. As clean as I really could be in this situation. I bound a strip of cloth around my shoulder to my side, and then held it in place by binding another cloth around my waist….as tightly as I could manage. There was another scar on my right leg, which was probably why I was having a hard time walking, and it amazed me that I had no broken limbs. I felt like every bone in my body had been mishandled when…I stopped myself from thinking about -that-.
Once I was well and truly bandaged, enough that I could feel no more blood I wiped my face and gazed about the room tiredly. What harm would it be to take a little nap…I was so tired. They weren't looking here anyway….Only for a few minutes.
I took a deep shuddering breath and staggered over to the bed dragging the coat with me. I curled up a little away from the wall and lay my head against the hard mattress. At least it wasn't a stone floor. I pulled the coat up around me and shivered. The smell was horrid, everything about the room that I was in was horrid. Tears sprang to my eyes as I had trouble feeling my lips…they were numb…numb with pain…like the rest of me…I'd sleep for a little while…then I'd go on. That's it…
I closed my eyes…but it wasn't long before the fever began to take a grip on me once again. It wasn't helping that I was still feeling the effects of the liquor and I began to see things…and…hear things. Shadows leapt at me from the darkness and I heard … things calling to me. The voices of the Nazghul echoed in my head and I couldn't get them out.
I would have tossed and turned but it was too painful. I couldn't really sleep…and that was when I heard it.
I turned over weakly…hearing a scraping sound on the stairs coming closer and closer to the room. Everything went through my mind at once and nearly overloaded it. I thought about all the stories and warnings that I'd had about Mordor. All the terrible creatures that lurked in the shadows. Shelob not being the least of them. I held my breathe, one step closer with each scrape, my ears were better than most, and whatever was coming…couldn't be human. I felt…felt it was hunting me. I could almost hear it sniffing in the stairwell. As I cringed…my mind fled into dark recesses. I wanted this to be over…I couldn't think anymore…I was afraid…no…absolutely terrified. I had no weapon…no means of protecting myself. I would fight though…with every last ounce of strength that I had. I closed my eyes…and prayed…
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