Disclaimer: AU Story. My second large fic because it gave me so much
pleasure writing the last. I do not own any of the characters or places in
this story- both belong to the genius, Tolkien. I know; I torture the
characters but I will do my very best to save them. Hope you enjoy!
Shirebound: Thank you for your lovely, beautiful comments! Really made me feel great.
A Elbereth: Was it that short? Good grief, it took me forever! And no, I do not write the story beforehand. That is why I make a LOT of mistakes *cringe* I spend a lot of time on one chapter, mainly but sometimes I have lots of ideas at once and just write all of them down. I do have writer's block- a lot! When they caught Gollum, I thought I had dug myself into a hole but then again, it gave my an opportunity to get lots of emotion in.
TrueFan: D'aw! I am so sorry that I made you cry! *hands over a box of Kleenex* I'm sorry! Yes, I am a big, big, BIG Frodo fan. He is my heartthrob. I think your approach is better, though. :-)
Elf of Rivendell: Do you like Gollum then? I know that you're an Aragorn fan so I'll include him a bit more for you!
The Fellowship of the Nuts: Great! I made you feel sorry for someone at last. Are you still mad at Balin?
Lil*bee: Aw, tank you, sweetie! I apologise if I've been going too fast!
Yay! Surprise Part One has arrived! It's back to the book next chapter.
~ Chapter Nineteen ~
A ray of sunlight appeared in the clouds. It beamed down and the elves all crowded out to stare in wonder. The sky, though still blotched and grey, was beginning to clear. Soon, the Fellowship would be able to make their way south again.
Frodo woke blearily, feeling stiff. He moved his neck so that he was looking up at the ceiling. His headache had gone for now and there was only a dull pain coming from his wounds. Leaning against the headrest, he sat up and looked round. He was in his bed again, opposite the window that looked out over Lórien. The place was silent. Frodo spotted Merry lying nearby, reading a book. The hobbit glanced up and smiled at him.
"Awake at last," he cried, "Goodness, Frodo, you've been asleep for years! They had to leave for Mordor without us! Too much trouble, they said."
"Oh dear. Well, I hope they have a pleasant trip," Frodo laughed. Merry clambered out of bed and went over to give his cousin a hug.
"We were really worried about you," he said, his tone becoming serious. "I mean, you started calling out in your sleep. Shouting about wraiths and the Ring. And there was no way to wake you."
Frodo rubbed at his eyes and sighed.
"Just more nightmares, Merry. I'm fine now. How are you, though?"
"Better than I was. I sleep an awful lot and my right arm is sore but it doesn't hurt at all when I drink the stuff that the elves gave us. Do you want some?"
"What is it?" Frodo asked cautiously, peering into the mug he was given. His friend would not say so he put it to his lips and took a small sip. It tasted of honey and mint and was very sweet but the stiffness in his joints eased a little. He set the drink to one side and then looked around. "Where is everyone? They didn't really leave did they?"
Merry laughed. "No, of course not. They're just exhausted. I heard all about it, Frodo. I mean, with Gollum.."
"Oh."
The hobbit drifted into silence. He frowned as he stared down at his hands on the bedcover. His memories were smeared and jumbled and it was hard to make sense of some. He remembered being carried up many flights of stairs and seeing anxious faces and then the drumming of rain. That was what had woken him. A gentle pattering outside. A convulsive shudder ran through him. Merry put a hand on his shoulder.
"Frodo?"
"Sorry. I was just.. it came back to me. And it seems so vague." He looked up into his companion's eyes. "Everything is so blurred. I know that things happened but its like.. its like I wasn't there."
Just then, the door opened. Legolas was there. He smiled at the sight of Frodo awake.
"Breakfast is being served in the chamber. The Lady is there also."
"At last! I'm starving! Frodo, are you coming?" Merry asked. Frodo shook his head.
"I might join you later," he said. His friend nodded then, giving Frodo's hand a small squeeze, he darted out of the room. Legolas entered, laughing. Closing the door, he walked over to the bed and sat at the corner. The hobbit glanced up at him.
"I'm sorry for acting.. for being.. well, I don't really know how to say it. I don't really remember what happened very well."
"You had no control over your actions, Frodo. It is no fault of yours. You are safe now, that is all that matters," the elf said gently. Frodo nodded then looked away again. He winced as a thought came to him.
"Legolas. I- I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"
"No, little one."
"But I seem to recall.. I swung Sting over my head and I hit someone. I can still hear that scream inside my head. I don't know- I- its all so strange."
He tried to concentrate for a moment but it was useless. He could only pick out a few memories of running, falling and of a piercing scream flowing through darkness. He lay back down with a sigh and Legolas put a pale hand to his cheek.
"Can you remember much?"
"No. Not at all."
"You put on the Ring."
Frodo's blue eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped.
"What? But I can't have! I ran didn't I? And then I was falling down the steps. Sam found me. Didn't he? I heard his voice and then he picked me up and then.. well, I was here. There were faces and voices but- Legolas what have I done?"
The elf calmed him a little, resting his arms by his side and then stroking his forehead slowly with his fingers. He did not want to cause Frodo more anxiety with this. After a long pause, he said,
"Sam did indeed bring you back to us. He carried you all the way up to the chamber where he found us again. We had all gone searching for you and returned there with little hope of ever finding you again! But then Samwise brought you to us and Aragorn managed to wake you. You spoke very little, only of the Ring and how it belonged solely to you. You lashed out at us but you were still very weak and quickly fell asleep once more. But as we went to carry you back.. you disappeared. If it wasn't that Aragorn noticed in time and caught you, we may have never found you."
Frodo was silent for a long time. He just gazed upwards. It occurred to Legolas that he was trying not to cry. Before he could speak, Frodo whispered,
"I can't fight it anymore. I don't want to have to always fight against myself. It takes so much effort to stop myself putting on the Ring. I can only escape it when I sleep and even then I am haunted by nightmares of flame and death.. I just don't want to have to do this anymore. To watch people die because of what I bear. I could not even save them! Gandalf and Balin sacrificed themselves for this quest. And now I can no longer even resist the power of the Ring! I failed Gandalf. I can't do this. I just can't."
And there was no comfort in words that Legolas could give. He bent down and brought the frail hobbit into his arms. Frodo gripped him tightly, eyes shut. The two of them sat in silence, fastened in their embrace.
--
Sam, upon hearing the news of Frodo's awakening, ran as fast as he could to the little room. He was about to burst in when he heard the sound of quiet singing. He opened the door softly to find Legolas keeping vigil over a sleeping Frodo.
"Idh mae
Idh si
Navaer, mellon nîn
Cuio nîn mellyn.."
Smiling to himself, Sam closed the door again.
~
I am very proud of my little song. It is written in Sindarin and it translates into: Sleep well, Rest here, Farewell my friend, Farewell. Not very impressive but then neither is my elvish. I hope that my first surprise thing was good!
Shirebound: Thank you for your lovely, beautiful comments! Really made me feel great.
A Elbereth: Was it that short? Good grief, it took me forever! And no, I do not write the story beforehand. That is why I make a LOT of mistakes *cringe* I spend a lot of time on one chapter, mainly but sometimes I have lots of ideas at once and just write all of them down. I do have writer's block- a lot! When they caught Gollum, I thought I had dug myself into a hole but then again, it gave my an opportunity to get lots of emotion in.
TrueFan: D'aw! I am so sorry that I made you cry! *hands over a box of Kleenex* I'm sorry! Yes, I am a big, big, BIG Frodo fan. He is my heartthrob. I think your approach is better, though. :-)
Elf of Rivendell: Do you like Gollum then? I know that you're an Aragorn fan so I'll include him a bit more for you!
The Fellowship of the Nuts: Great! I made you feel sorry for someone at last. Are you still mad at Balin?
Lil*bee: Aw, tank you, sweetie! I apologise if I've been going too fast!
Yay! Surprise Part One has arrived! It's back to the book next chapter.
~ Chapter Nineteen ~
A ray of sunlight appeared in the clouds. It beamed down and the elves all crowded out to stare in wonder. The sky, though still blotched and grey, was beginning to clear. Soon, the Fellowship would be able to make their way south again.
Frodo woke blearily, feeling stiff. He moved his neck so that he was looking up at the ceiling. His headache had gone for now and there was only a dull pain coming from his wounds. Leaning against the headrest, he sat up and looked round. He was in his bed again, opposite the window that looked out over Lórien. The place was silent. Frodo spotted Merry lying nearby, reading a book. The hobbit glanced up and smiled at him.
"Awake at last," he cried, "Goodness, Frodo, you've been asleep for years! They had to leave for Mordor without us! Too much trouble, they said."
"Oh dear. Well, I hope they have a pleasant trip," Frodo laughed. Merry clambered out of bed and went over to give his cousin a hug.
"We were really worried about you," he said, his tone becoming serious. "I mean, you started calling out in your sleep. Shouting about wraiths and the Ring. And there was no way to wake you."
Frodo rubbed at his eyes and sighed.
"Just more nightmares, Merry. I'm fine now. How are you, though?"
"Better than I was. I sleep an awful lot and my right arm is sore but it doesn't hurt at all when I drink the stuff that the elves gave us. Do you want some?"
"What is it?" Frodo asked cautiously, peering into the mug he was given. His friend would not say so he put it to his lips and took a small sip. It tasted of honey and mint and was very sweet but the stiffness in his joints eased a little. He set the drink to one side and then looked around. "Where is everyone? They didn't really leave did they?"
Merry laughed. "No, of course not. They're just exhausted. I heard all about it, Frodo. I mean, with Gollum.."
"Oh."
The hobbit drifted into silence. He frowned as he stared down at his hands on the bedcover. His memories were smeared and jumbled and it was hard to make sense of some. He remembered being carried up many flights of stairs and seeing anxious faces and then the drumming of rain. That was what had woken him. A gentle pattering outside. A convulsive shudder ran through him. Merry put a hand on his shoulder.
"Frodo?"
"Sorry. I was just.. it came back to me. And it seems so vague." He looked up into his companion's eyes. "Everything is so blurred. I know that things happened but its like.. its like I wasn't there."
Just then, the door opened. Legolas was there. He smiled at the sight of Frodo awake.
"Breakfast is being served in the chamber. The Lady is there also."
"At last! I'm starving! Frodo, are you coming?" Merry asked. Frodo shook his head.
"I might join you later," he said. His friend nodded then, giving Frodo's hand a small squeeze, he darted out of the room. Legolas entered, laughing. Closing the door, he walked over to the bed and sat at the corner. The hobbit glanced up at him.
"I'm sorry for acting.. for being.. well, I don't really know how to say it. I don't really remember what happened very well."
"You had no control over your actions, Frodo. It is no fault of yours. You are safe now, that is all that matters," the elf said gently. Frodo nodded then looked away again. He winced as a thought came to him.
"Legolas. I- I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"
"No, little one."
"But I seem to recall.. I swung Sting over my head and I hit someone. I can still hear that scream inside my head. I don't know- I- its all so strange."
He tried to concentrate for a moment but it was useless. He could only pick out a few memories of running, falling and of a piercing scream flowing through darkness. He lay back down with a sigh and Legolas put a pale hand to his cheek.
"Can you remember much?"
"No. Not at all."
"You put on the Ring."
Frodo's blue eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped.
"What? But I can't have! I ran didn't I? And then I was falling down the steps. Sam found me. Didn't he? I heard his voice and then he picked me up and then.. well, I was here. There were faces and voices but- Legolas what have I done?"
The elf calmed him a little, resting his arms by his side and then stroking his forehead slowly with his fingers. He did not want to cause Frodo more anxiety with this. After a long pause, he said,
"Sam did indeed bring you back to us. He carried you all the way up to the chamber where he found us again. We had all gone searching for you and returned there with little hope of ever finding you again! But then Samwise brought you to us and Aragorn managed to wake you. You spoke very little, only of the Ring and how it belonged solely to you. You lashed out at us but you were still very weak and quickly fell asleep once more. But as we went to carry you back.. you disappeared. If it wasn't that Aragorn noticed in time and caught you, we may have never found you."
Frodo was silent for a long time. He just gazed upwards. It occurred to Legolas that he was trying not to cry. Before he could speak, Frodo whispered,
"I can't fight it anymore. I don't want to have to always fight against myself. It takes so much effort to stop myself putting on the Ring. I can only escape it when I sleep and even then I am haunted by nightmares of flame and death.. I just don't want to have to do this anymore. To watch people die because of what I bear. I could not even save them! Gandalf and Balin sacrificed themselves for this quest. And now I can no longer even resist the power of the Ring! I failed Gandalf. I can't do this. I just can't."
And there was no comfort in words that Legolas could give. He bent down and brought the frail hobbit into his arms. Frodo gripped him tightly, eyes shut. The two of them sat in silence, fastened in their embrace.
--
Sam, upon hearing the news of Frodo's awakening, ran as fast as he could to the little room. He was about to burst in when he heard the sound of quiet singing. He opened the door softly to find Legolas keeping vigil over a sleeping Frodo.
"Idh mae
Idh si
Navaer, mellon nîn
Cuio nîn mellyn.."
Smiling to himself, Sam closed the door again.
~
I am very proud of my little song. It is written in Sindarin and it translates into: Sleep well, Rest here, Farewell my friend, Farewell. Not very impressive but then neither is my elvish. I hope that my first surprise thing was good!