"This world is never meant for one as beautiful as you."
Starry, Starry Night - Josh Groban
AN: Krista, you're kidding! Reviews are the nicest thing on earth to read. They mean a lot for every writer, me unexceptionally. Just like what you said, aelfgifu. Emma, I read those writings in the group and I like them very much! Ha, I have an idea. Let me put it there, okay? But maybe later after the chapter is put there. Yep, the hobbits are going somewhere. Not to Barad Dur or Orthanc (yet), but to a place you know but in a situation you've never guessed! (smirk devilishly) I saw FOTR again today and got more and more in love with the characters! Alisaundre, I hope you're not upset after reading this chapter. (oops, no spoiler intended!) BTW, I remember someone asking about Frodo POV ---
Warning: AU, angst, violence
Chapter 32
Frodo POV
I feel fingers nudge me from behind and I twitch. I remember the horrors this man has caused, even without touching me. Strange though, his touch this time is able to distract me from my panicky feeling.
But that is only for a short while. My panic comes back. A lump forms in my throat, threatening to spill out. I fight it will all my strength. I cannot even open my mouth! I can die choked by my own vomit.
Oh sweet Elbereth. It's getting more and more difficult to breath. I feel my chest go up and down, hitching at every attempt to draw in some air. I can't give up now. If I let myself pass out, I will surely --- die.
Suddenly I feel things around me change. I'm still short of air but it is not as dark anymore. And I think - this is the bizarre thing - I am under water. God, no! Has Saruman decided to drown me now? Please, no!
He promised me to bring me to Gandalf! Although the wizard - well, whatever! I don't care if he has abandoned me before. I just need a reason to stay alive and for Saruman to let me live.
Waves sweep around me. I shudder. It feels so cold. Then I think I see two figures down there at the bottom of the - river? I move my free arms and in a second I'm beside one of them.
It looks like a hobbit's body, lying face down. I reach out and turn the body around. I almost scream out when I see the face!
It is mama!
Hastily, I turn around the other body. My guess is right. Papa!
Ohh. I'm overwhelmed. Are they still alive? I have to get them out of here.
With a powerful force I don't know I possess, I drag them to the surface. One by one I pull the bodies up and rest them on the riverbank. I pull myself out of the water and run to them. Oh, I just realize that I'm a teenager again. I'm back to the time when my father and mother tragically drowned.
I squat beside my mother and feel her pulse. My eyes widen. Her pulse is there, though faint! What does it mean? What does it mean!?
"Ma - ma---" I stammer at my speech, too stunned by the possibility of ---
What should I do now? What do I have to do to bring my parents back?
I pump at my mother's chest. I don't know if it's the right thing to do. I just want her to breathe again. One - two, and it helps! My effort does help! My mother starts to convulse and suddenly she is coughing hard, throwing water out. Then another miracle happens. She opens her eyes!
"Mama!" I call her out. This is such an unimaginable situation. I have lived my life all this time without her, experiencing the most severe time, and suddenly, I'm thrown back the time and I find my mother alive! A tear trickles on my cheek.
"Frodo?" calls my mother weakly. "Why are you crying, child?"
Oh, how I miss that soft and gentle voice. How I have been dreaming about this. I still can't believe it.
"Mama, you're here with me again." My voice is unbelievably small.
"Of course, I am, love. You know I won't leave you alone."
I nod frantically. So Merry has been lying so far. Mama has never left me and never will.
I turn to papa.
"Have to wake papa now," I say to my mother. She nods and smiles sweetly. My heart melts at once.
"Yes, you have to, Frodo. Quickly."
So I do the same thing to papa what I did mama. He also opens his eyes not long after that, and he smiles, too. The smile that is always capable of making me feel safe and protected. Oh, this must be heaven. This is too good to be true.
"Frodo, my boy," my father caresses me on my cheek. I lean in to him, crying freely.
"Frodo-" My mother's surprised tone catches my attention. I turn to her immediately.
"Sorry mama. I'm so happy I - " But a warning sign in her eyes makes my body stiffen. I turn around.
Someone else is standing behind me. This young hobbit resembles Merry, my cousin who's still a little child. But they really look alike. This hobbit is just the bigger version of my cousin.
He has a paddle in his hands.
"Do I know you?" I wail.
He doesn't answer me. What really shocks me is that he swings his paddle to my direction.
And it smashes hard on the side of my head. I have no chance even to scream. The blow successfully sends me back to the darkness.
(end of Frodo POV)
"Merry," Pip clawed at his older cousin. "Have you ever tried it? I have, Merry."
"What?" Merry seemed like just waking up from his sleep. "What did you say? Try what? The ring?"
Pip nodded.
"It was strange, Merry. Everything went fuzzy and -"
Merry's face went pale with fury but he tried to suppress it.
"Don't you dare doing it again, Pip!" he warned. "It's mine!" Pippin looked at him frightfully.
"No, I won't, Merry. But cousin, in the vision I got when wearing the ring, I saw them again!"
"Who?"
"The black riders!"
Pip was expecting Merry to look surprised or scared. But he was wrong. His cousin was laughing!
"So what if they come? They won't do anything! They can't do anything!" blurted Merry.
Pippin gazed at him confusedly.
"But Frodo - he ran away from them at that time."
"Ah," Merry waved his hand. "Your weak cousin Frodo? Of course he would run. He's never strong, isn't he, Pip? Can you imagine? He's been given the biggest opportunity to conquer the whole Middle Earth! And what was he doing? Running away like a coward!"
Pippin stood silently. He half agreed with Merry. But some parts of his brain told him that there was something wrong with the concept Merry just elaborated. Who was actually strong, and who was weak?
"Do you understand, Pip? No? Oh, I know this is difficult for you. Anyway, I see that you get yourself a pony. Now, we'd better hurry. We've got to get to Frodo."
"But why?" Pippin asked incomprehensively. "You have the ring, Merry. You can go back to the Shire and do what you want to do."
"Fool!" snapped Merry. "I have bigger plans than just the Shire. What can the place give me? Nothing! Just a bunch of silly people with their crops!"
***
A rough grasp on Frodo's shoulder sent him back to reality. A more bitter and frustrating reality. A world where everything was black. Frodo tossed his had back and whimpered in despair. Saruman noticed that the layer was wet.
"Ah, have you been crying, halfling? So pathetic. While I thought you are unconscious all this time."
Frodo had also just realized that he had been awake so far. So, what did the thing with his mama, papa, and Merry mean?
He was afraid of himself now. Had he been hallucinating? Had his mind just wandered around to a different world?
Frodo heard Saruman laughed a little.
"Ted!" he shouted. "Your pretty little hobbit here has gone mad!"
Never ceasing his riding, Ted forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Whatever his reply was would give Frodo more misery.
Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and Ted screamed in pain. He went stiff and fell off his horse heavily.
"Ted??" Saruman was surprised, too. He then saw an arrow sticking out from Ted's back.
Then there was another hissing sound.
"Ahhh!!"
This time it was himself. But Saruman didn't want to fall alone. During his falling, he grabbed Frodo, so the hobbit was also flying down from the horse. But while Saruman successfully landed on the ground, Frodo's body was held back in the neck. He couldn't reach the ground as the horse was so big and he was so small and the rope leashing his neck was so short. So there he was now, hanging and strangled by the cord. His free legs kicked to every direction, fighting desperately to free his body.
TBC
Starry, Starry Night - Josh Groban
AN: Krista, you're kidding! Reviews are the nicest thing on earth to read. They mean a lot for every writer, me unexceptionally. Just like what you said, aelfgifu. Emma, I read those writings in the group and I like them very much! Ha, I have an idea. Let me put it there, okay? But maybe later after the chapter is put there. Yep, the hobbits are going somewhere. Not to Barad Dur or Orthanc (yet), but to a place you know but in a situation you've never guessed! (smirk devilishly) I saw FOTR again today and got more and more in love with the characters! Alisaundre, I hope you're not upset after reading this chapter. (oops, no spoiler intended!) BTW, I remember someone asking about Frodo POV ---
Warning: AU, angst, violence
Chapter 32
Frodo POV
I feel fingers nudge me from behind and I twitch. I remember the horrors this man has caused, even without touching me. Strange though, his touch this time is able to distract me from my panicky feeling.
But that is only for a short while. My panic comes back. A lump forms in my throat, threatening to spill out. I fight it will all my strength. I cannot even open my mouth! I can die choked by my own vomit.
Oh sweet Elbereth. It's getting more and more difficult to breath. I feel my chest go up and down, hitching at every attempt to draw in some air. I can't give up now. If I let myself pass out, I will surely --- die.
Suddenly I feel things around me change. I'm still short of air but it is not as dark anymore. And I think - this is the bizarre thing - I am under water. God, no! Has Saruman decided to drown me now? Please, no!
He promised me to bring me to Gandalf! Although the wizard - well, whatever! I don't care if he has abandoned me before. I just need a reason to stay alive and for Saruman to let me live.
Waves sweep around me. I shudder. It feels so cold. Then I think I see two figures down there at the bottom of the - river? I move my free arms and in a second I'm beside one of them.
It looks like a hobbit's body, lying face down. I reach out and turn the body around. I almost scream out when I see the face!
It is mama!
Hastily, I turn around the other body. My guess is right. Papa!
Ohh. I'm overwhelmed. Are they still alive? I have to get them out of here.
With a powerful force I don't know I possess, I drag them to the surface. One by one I pull the bodies up and rest them on the riverbank. I pull myself out of the water and run to them. Oh, I just realize that I'm a teenager again. I'm back to the time when my father and mother tragically drowned.
I squat beside my mother and feel her pulse. My eyes widen. Her pulse is there, though faint! What does it mean? What does it mean!?
"Ma - ma---" I stammer at my speech, too stunned by the possibility of ---
What should I do now? What do I have to do to bring my parents back?
I pump at my mother's chest. I don't know if it's the right thing to do. I just want her to breathe again. One - two, and it helps! My effort does help! My mother starts to convulse and suddenly she is coughing hard, throwing water out. Then another miracle happens. She opens her eyes!
"Mama!" I call her out. This is such an unimaginable situation. I have lived my life all this time without her, experiencing the most severe time, and suddenly, I'm thrown back the time and I find my mother alive! A tear trickles on my cheek.
"Frodo?" calls my mother weakly. "Why are you crying, child?"
Oh, how I miss that soft and gentle voice. How I have been dreaming about this. I still can't believe it.
"Mama, you're here with me again." My voice is unbelievably small.
"Of course, I am, love. You know I won't leave you alone."
I nod frantically. So Merry has been lying so far. Mama has never left me and never will.
I turn to papa.
"Have to wake papa now," I say to my mother. She nods and smiles sweetly. My heart melts at once.
"Yes, you have to, Frodo. Quickly."
So I do the same thing to papa what I did mama. He also opens his eyes not long after that, and he smiles, too. The smile that is always capable of making me feel safe and protected. Oh, this must be heaven. This is too good to be true.
"Frodo, my boy," my father caresses me on my cheek. I lean in to him, crying freely.
"Frodo-" My mother's surprised tone catches my attention. I turn to her immediately.
"Sorry mama. I'm so happy I - " But a warning sign in her eyes makes my body stiffen. I turn around.
Someone else is standing behind me. This young hobbit resembles Merry, my cousin who's still a little child. But they really look alike. This hobbit is just the bigger version of my cousin.
He has a paddle in his hands.
"Do I know you?" I wail.
He doesn't answer me. What really shocks me is that he swings his paddle to my direction.
And it smashes hard on the side of my head. I have no chance even to scream. The blow successfully sends me back to the darkness.
(end of Frodo POV)
"Merry," Pip clawed at his older cousin. "Have you ever tried it? I have, Merry."
"What?" Merry seemed like just waking up from his sleep. "What did you say? Try what? The ring?"
Pip nodded.
"It was strange, Merry. Everything went fuzzy and -"
Merry's face went pale with fury but he tried to suppress it.
"Don't you dare doing it again, Pip!" he warned. "It's mine!" Pippin looked at him frightfully.
"No, I won't, Merry. But cousin, in the vision I got when wearing the ring, I saw them again!"
"Who?"
"The black riders!"
Pip was expecting Merry to look surprised or scared. But he was wrong. His cousin was laughing!
"So what if they come? They won't do anything! They can't do anything!" blurted Merry.
Pippin gazed at him confusedly.
"But Frodo - he ran away from them at that time."
"Ah," Merry waved his hand. "Your weak cousin Frodo? Of course he would run. He's never strong, isn't he, Pip? Can you imagine? He's been given the biggest opportunity to conquer the whole Middle Earth! And what was he doing? Running away like a coward!"
Pippin stood silently. He half agreed with Merry. But some parts of his brain told him that there was something wrong with the concept Merry just elaborated. Who was actually strong, and who was weak?
"Do you understand, Pip? No? Oh, I know this is difficult for you. Anyway, I see that you get yourself a pony. Now, we'd better hurry. We've got to get to Frodo."
"But why?" Pippin asked incomprehensively. "You have the ring, Merry. You can go back to the Shire and do what you want to do."
"Fool!" snapped Merry. "I have bigger plans than just the Shire. What can the place give me? Nothing! Just a bunch of silly people with their crops!"
***
A rough grasp on Frodo's shoulder sent him back to reality. A more bitter and frustrating reality. A world where everything was black. Frodo tossed his had back and whimpered in despair. Saruman noticed that the layer was wet.
"Ah, have you been crying, halfling? So pathetic. While I thought you are unconscious all this time."
Frodo had also just realized that he had been awake so far. So, what did the thing with his mama, papa, and Merry mean?
He was afraid of himself now. Had he been hallucinating? Had his mind just wandered around to a different world?
Frodo heard Saruman laughed a little.
"Ted!" he shouted. "Your pretty little hobbit here has gone mad!"
Never ceasing his riding, Ted forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Whatever his reply was would give Frodo more misery.
Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and Ted screamed in pain. He went stiff and fell off his horse heavily.
"Ted??" Saruman was surprised, too. He then saw an arrow sticking out from Ted's back.
Then there was another hissing sound.
"Ahhh!!"
This time it was himself. But Saruman didn't want to fall alone. During his falling, he grabbed Frodo, so the hobbit was also flying down from the horse. But while Saruman successfully landed on the ground, Frodo's body was held back in the neck. He couldn't reach the ground as the horse was so big and he was so small and the rope leashing his neck was so short. So there he was now, hanging and strangled by the cord. His free legs kicked to every direction, fighting desperately to free his body.
TBC
