"Might as well take me…"
As the doors thumped open a wave of heat crashed in to them, Legolas sprang forward ready to shoot, every nerve in his body tingling.
The room was empty all but for a large bed against the far wall and in the middle lay a small body, Frodo.
The window was open to the air, outside the sun had set leaving the room in ghostly shadow.
Stepping past Legolas, who's eyes scanned the room searching for something that should not have been there, Gangalf moved across the stone floor toward Frodo, all at once the tension in the air grew again. Gandalf stopped, only steps away from the figure in the bed and took a moment to take in the face of the hobbit he had known for a lifetime, Frodo's lifetime.
A stream of silver fell through the window landing on the coverlet and bathing Frodo's face in moonlight, turning his skin as white as alabaster and stretching it tightly over his cheekbones. The eye sockets were black and deeply sunken, but despite his skeletal appearance the greatest shock to Gandalf were the long streaks of silver running through Frodo's dark hair. *He, out of us all, has suffered more than any creature should have to in one lifetime, and how much is there that we have yet to find out?*
*****************************
From the shadows it watched, feeling them drawing closer to that which it held dear. They are right outside the door! They must not be allowed to take him away again, they must be stopped. It reached out to the door handle and felt it glow with heat, felt the pain of the most hated one of them all as it touched the metal letting go with a cry of pain, in the bed Frodo cried out in shock and fear. These creatures must be disposed of quickly, they were causing pain to Him, the one it most wanted to protect, its anger grew again as it felt the hobbit's hand touch the metal and turn it despite his agony, quickly it withdrew back, they would not take him away again, they would not!
It watched from the shadows as the man dressed in white stepped in to the room and started to move toward the ringbearer. Not again, they would be removed, but it was weak, its earlier movements weakening it, the connection from the realm of shadows to the ringbearer was weak yet but it would grow strong again and take back what was rightfully its. As its anger sugerged the man stopped and began to study Frodo's face, a look of pain and pity in its eyes, and suddenly the head turned and looked straight at it…
******************
The heat was all around him, but it had been growing stronger for days now, and the voices…whispering, calling him again, the Ring was gone but the ties that bound Frodo to it's master were too strong, Sauron's voice had started calling him as he slept as he had entered Mordor, the closer they came the stronger the voice had become. When the ring was destroyed it stopped, silence…it was almost worse than the words in his head. Sam had begun to suspect after Cirith Ungol, Frodo had cried out in his sleep, words in the ancient tongue, a tongue even Elrond and Gandalf would not speak. Sam had been taken away, he was close still, but something was in the way, a voice he knew, a darkness he recognised. Suddenly Frodo felt pain, in his hands, Sam's pain, fading slowly suddenly it shot up his arms like fire but the darkness withdrew lingering in his mind like a shadow in the background. Someone was coming to him, coming to get him! Gandalf! As he drew near Frodo felt the shadow growing again and the air in his lungs began to burn. Gandalf stopped and the shadow waited but as Frodo felt the wizards pitying gaze pointed towards him he felt the wizard's attention move, drawn to something else…and the shadow lunged…
**********************
Legolas felt it, knew where it was he turned quickly and raised his bow but realised that this was no mortal enemy, no arrows would harm a creature of darkness, not one as strong as this. From the black fires of eternal darkness this shadow had returned, but what for?
The shadow reached out toward the wizard as Gandalf moved quickly to Frodo's bedside, before he could reach him Gandalf felt himself pushed back, away from his friend. Sam let out a yell and ran toward Frodo and the shadow repelled Sam with more strength, knocking him back in to the corridor and in to Gimli. Aragorn rushed to Gandalf's side.
"Come my friend, it is time to leave, we have found our enemy, now we must find out what we are fighting"
Aragorn pulled Gandalf to his feet and out of the door, Legolas went with them, watching it, visible to the naked eye like an oily smear that no starlight shone theough, black but indistinct a wall between them and Frodo.
As they moved out in to the corridor Aragorn grasped the handles and pulled the doors closed, realising that he felt no heat. Sam stood, white faced against the wall watching them, his hands outstretched, burned, large tears of pain swimming in his brown eyes. Legolas knelt beside the hobbit and took his arms in his hands, examined the wounds and looked to Aragorn.
To the guards surprise the King knelt down and swept the hobbit up in his arms being careful to mind his hands, Aragorn turned to the guards.
"Let no-one but myself or Gandalf in to this room."
The guards nodded and took back their positions, Gandalf looked at Aragorn…
"Come, my friend, we have much to discuss."
And with those words the company headed back to the hall, fear writhing in each stomach at what they had just seen. Gandalf felt a deep terror of which he had never known, for how do you defeat that which you cannot fight?
*********************
They had tried to take him away! The wizard had discovered him when he knocked him away, for a split instant the wizard's mind had entered his and known.
The shadow moved back to its place beside the bed. He had screamed everytime he repelled them, soon he would have to move the little one in to a deep sleep, that he might wake when it was safe. When those who had taken him away were gone and the lands of Middle Earth cleansed of each worthless creature, but one…a light, shinning in its purity despite the filth it had been submerged with, once he had had his light safely away. But his creatures were careless, they let one of Them in. They had been punished.
If the hobbit had not come he could have had all that he desired, the Ring and it Bearer.
As the doors thumped open a wave of heat crashed in to them, Legolas sprang forward ready to shoot, every nerve in his body tingling.
The room was empty all but for a large bed against the far wall and in the middle lay a small body, Frodo.
The window was open to the air, outside the sun had set leaving the room in ghostly shadow.
Stepping past Legolas, who's eyes scanned the room searching for something that should not have been there, Gangalf moved across the stone floor toward Frodo, all at once the tension in the air grew again. Gandalf stopped, only steps away from the figure in the bed and took a moment to take in the face of the hobbit he had known for a lifetime, Frodo's lifetime.
A stream of silver fell through the window landing on the coverlet and bathing Frodo's face in moonlight, turning his skin as white as alabaster and stretching it tightly over his cheekbones. The eye sockets were black and deeply sunken, but despite his skeletal appearance the greatest shock to Gandalf were the long streaks of silver running through Frodo's dark hair. *He, out of us all, has suffered more than any creature should have to in one lifetime, and how much is there that we have yet to find out?*
*****************************
From the shadows it watched, feeling them drawing closer to that which it held dear. They are right outside the door! They must not be allowed to take him away again, they must be stopped. It reached out to the door handle and felt it glow with heat, felt the pain of the most hated one of them all as it touched the metal letting go with a cry of pain, in the bed Frodo cried out in shock and fear. These creatures must be disposed of quickly, they were causing pain to Him, the one it most wanted to protect, its anger grew again as it felt the hobbit's hand touch the metal and turn it despite his agony, quickly it withdrew back, they would not take him away again, they would not!
It watched from the shadows as the man dressed in white stepped in to the room and started to move toward the ringbearer. Not again, they would be removed, but it was weak, its earlier movements weakening it, the connection from the realm of shadows to the ringbearer was weak yet but it would grow strong again and take back what was rightfully its. As its anger sugerged the man stopped and began to study Frodo's face, a look of pain and pity in its eyes, and suddenly the head turned and looked straight at it…
******************
The heat was all around him, but it had been growing stronger for days now, and the voices…whispering, calling him again, the Ring was gone but the ties that bound Frodo to it's master were too strong, Sauron's voice had started calling him as he slept as he had entered Mordor, the closer they came the stronger the voice had become. When the ring was destroyed it stopped, silence…it was almost worse than the words in his head. Sam had begun to suspect after Cirith Ungol, Frodo had cried out in his sleep, words in the ancient tongue, a tongue even Elrond and Gandalf would not speak. Sam had been taken away, he was close still, but something was in the way, a voice he knew, a darkness he recognised. Suddenly Frodo felt pain, in his hands, Sam's pain, fading slowly suddenly it shot up his arms like fire but the darkness withdrew lingering in his mind like a shadow in the background. Someone was coming to him, coming to get him! Gandalf! As he drew near Frodo felt the shadow growing again and the air in his lungs began to burn. Gandalf stopped and the shadow waited but as Frodo felt the wizards pitying gaze pointed towards him he felt the wizard's attention move, drawn to something else…and the shadow lunged…
**********************
Legolas felt it, knew where it was he turned quickly and raised his bow but realised that this was no mortal enemy, no arrows would harm a creature of darkness, not one as strong as this. From the black fires of eternal darkness this shadow had returned, but what for?
The shadow reached out toward the wizard as Gandalf moved quickly to Frodo's bedside, before he could reach him Gandalf felt himself pushed back, away from his friend. Sam let out a yell and ran toward Frodo and the shadow repelled Sam with more strength, knocking him back in to the corridor and in to Gimli. Aragorn rushed to Gandalf's side.
"Come my friend, it is time to leave, we have found our enemy, now we must find out what we are fighting"
Aragorn pulled Gandalf to his feet and out of the door, Legolas went with them, watching it, visible to the naked eye like an oily smear that no starlight shone theough, black but indistinct a wall between them and Frodo.
As they moved out in to the corridor Aragorn grasped the handles and pulled the doors closed, realising that he felt no heat. Sam stood, white faced against the wall watching them, his hands outstretched, burned, large tears of pain swimming in his brown eyes. Legolas knelt beside the hobbit and took his arms in his hands, examined the wounds and looked to Aragorn.
To the guards surprise the King knelt down and swept the hobbit up in his arms being careful to mind his hands, Aragorn turned to the guards.
"Let no-one but myself or Gandalf in to this room."
The guards nodded and took back their positions, Gandalf looked at Aragorn…
"Come, my friend, we have much to discuss."
And with those words the company headed back to the hall, fear writhing in each stomach at what they had just seen. Gandalf felt a deep terror of which he had never known, for how do you defeat that which you cannot fight?
*********************
They had tried to take him away! The wizard had discovered him when he knocked him away, for a split instant the wizard's mind had entered his and known.
The shadow moved back to its place beside the bed. He had screamed everytime he repelled them, soon he would have to move the little one in to a deep sleep, that he might wake when it was safe. When those who had taken him away were gone and the lands of Middle Earth cleansed of each worthless creature, but one…a light, shinning in its purity despite the filth it had been submerged with, once he had had his light safely away. But his creatures were careless, they let one of Them in. They had been punished.
If the hobbit had not come he could have had all that he desired, the Ring and it Bearer.