Gandalf and Myrth ate breakfast quickly and insisted they leave at once. Smeagol lead them up the rocks, all the while muttering to himself. Pippin was rather talkative himself.
"So, when will we get to Mt. Doom?" he asked cheerfully.
"Don't speak so lightly. Mt. Doom is very dangerous" Myrth replied.
"I just wanted to know" Pippin retorted.
"Soon....but these rocks are merely pebbles compared to the cliffs there" answered Myrth, without looking up.
"Oh...." Pippin said, falling silent.
"How's your back, Frodo?" asked Sam.
"Alright, I suppose" Frodo answered with a sigh.
"Silence your tongues! The Orcs are close. Keep up and keep quiet" Gandalf ordered, turning to the Hobbits. They nodded and quickened their pace. There wasn't a path or even the slightest hint of a trail and all that lay in front of them was a maze of twisting rocks. They soon grew weary but Gandalf refused to let them rest, not even for lunch. Pippin soon began to stagger and even Myrth began to hunch over with weariness. Frodo too was very weary. He soon began to feel faint and could hardly keep his footing. He fell to his knees and found himself unable to stand.
In an instant Shrell was infront of him. He knelt down and lifted his chin with her hand.
"Look at me, Frodo. We can't stop now, We must continue" she said, her eyes stern.
"Shrell, I..." Frodo found himself unable to finish.
"Stand up, be strong" Shrell whispered "We're all depending on you." Frodo stood, rapping one arm around Shrell's shoulder for balance. Gandalf lead them on for what seemed like hours.
It was dark when they could finally rest. Frodo sat down among the rocks and fell asleep instantly as did the others, besides Shrell, who had decided to stand watch all night.
Frodo awoke when it was still dark. Shrell was sitting high up on one of the rocks. Frodo threw a small stone at her, which hit the rock with a clink. Shrell turned and looked down at him.
"Do you never sleep?" Frodo asked. Shrell smiled sadly but didn't answer. Frodo walked over to her and sat down on the rock.
" Is everything alright?" Frodo asked.
"Why?" Shrell turned to look at him.
"You've been rather quiet lately."
Shrell shrugged, "It's nearing the end of our journey. I guess I just............" she hung her head and didn't continue, she tried to turn away.
"Shrell...." Frodo murmured, touching her shoulder.
Shrell bit her lip and Frodo saw tears fun down her cheeks. "What if......something happens to one of us, Frodo. I couldn't bear to see one of this lively group perish." Her shoulders began to shake as soft sobs escaped her lips. Frodo did not know what to say. What if someone did die? Frodo shook his head. Shrell was right, he wouldn't watch his friends die when their death wasn't necessary.
"That's why.........." Frodo paused and stood up, "I must go alone." Frodo jumped from the rock and began to walk away. He heard Shrell behind him and quickened his pace. He soon began to run, in hopes of escaping her.
Suddenly, Frodo felt something hit the back of his head very hard. He fell to his knees.
"Your not leaving me behind" came the voice of Shrell.
"Shrell, this was my burden to bear, I'm sorry I dragged you into this" he answered, not looking back her.
"Frodo, never once have I found meaning in my life. There was a time when I would have welcomed death. I wasn't far from giving up the day I met you, and here you are, the one who gave me reason to live, apologizing for doing so. Frodo, you can try to leave me behind but you'll be wasting your time." Her voice was strong and there wasn't a chance of her changing her mind.
Frodo felt tears swell up in his eyes, then roll down his cheeks. He slowly stood up and turned to look back at her.
"Why does this mean so much to you?" he asked shakily.
"You need not a reason, It means enough for me to throw rocks at your head" Shrell answered. Frodo laughed, still choking back tears. He threw his arms around Shrell's neck and pulled into an embrace. She returned the embrace, resting her forehead, lightly, on the top of his head.
"Your as stubborn as Sam was" Frodo choked out.
"You mean Sam is!" came a voice from behind the rocks. "You think you could leave me behind as well?"
"Samwise! How did-" Frodo started.
"I have my ways!" Sam shouted as he stumbled down the rock, approaching them. Shrell chuckled lightly at Sam's response.
"Let us continue, before the others awake" Frodo said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He and Sam started out at once. Shrell gave one last look back the way the came, thinking of all they had overcome.
"Good luck to you, Peregrin, Mariadoc, Strider, Arwen, Legolas, Gimli, Safarien, Gandalf, Myrth. May your way be less perilous than our" she whispered.
It hit Frodo, then, that they were truly leaving everything behind..........to be continued.