Krista: I'll check the Lord of the Rhymes. And hey, thanks for your keen
enthusiasm!
Niphrandl: Frodo will be alright, don't worry.
Aelfgifu: I guess Merry didn't want Frodo to reunite with Sam yet.
Alisaundre: And, wow! All the praises - please! (blush) Glad you like it!
AndysPrincess: This humble writer is only able to go on because of you all! :)
Blue Jedi Hobbit: (Frodo blinks) "But, I'm rescued, right? Can I just go home and rest?" ^_^
Endymion: Hi! Thanks for your review. Well, let's see. In my place, I don't know how, but it's not only the spirit that is duplicated, but also the physical form. But even if Saruman can only do this for his spirit, he has to place it quickly to someone else's body. So the spirit can't go free for a long time. Otherwise, it will go back to the owner's body. But your idea about using Aragorn's body is not bad at all!
Warning: AU, angst
Chapter 34
"But he was dead," Frodo spoke now more to himself, as if in a swoon. "I saw him dead. Merry also said that he was dead. Yet he is here. WAS here. And now he's dead again, because of you!" Frodo looked around and grabbed a piece of wood that just happened to be there. He stood up and dashed toward the ranger.
Alarmed, Strider stood still and caught the wood the moment it was swung by the angered hobbit. Strider's face went hard, but full of pity toward Frodo. He even hadn't fully recovered. Strider could notice him swaying a little.
"Frodo, look- "
"You even know my name?" cut the hobbit quickly. "How? How!? Did you torture Sam to tell you my name? Did you force him to inform you everything, including about the ring?"
Torture? Oh! Strider was taken aback. Was Frodo just babbling about HIMSELF? Strider remembered Merry's words some time ago.
"Halfling, if this is how you prefer, I won't use your name. Listen, I'll tell you something. Someone threw a stone and it hit Sam's head, hard. He is not dead. He's just unconscious. You can see yourself. Sam will be awake soon. He'll be all right." Strider almost didn't stop to breathe in saying it all.
Frodo shook his head slowly. Doubtfully, nervously.
"No, no." He stepped back. "If Merry said he was dead, he was dead. Sam was gone. Since a long time ago. He would never return - to me again." His voice was one belonging to someone so despaired. Frodo cringed, his knees bending a little, as if reliving the pain that came unto his legs. He could almost feel the thrashing of the belt again.
"Merry, you said?" Strider's head tipped a little to the side. "Merry is a liar, Frodo." Oops, the ranger called him with his name again. He noticed how Frodo tensed.
"You have to believe me, HALFLING. Merry is treacherous. What he had done to you is evil. He only wants the ring."
Another mistake. Frodo was enflamed again.
"Then I'm right, aren't I? You knew about the ring. You also want that thing. Merry is not a liar! He already has the ring, so why would he still want to keep me? Why? Because - because he loves me!"
Strider's jaw dropped open. He knew that Merry had broken Frodo. But what exactly had that evil little thing done to Frodo that could make this poor creature so eager to defend him?
"Frodo, I don't want the ring. It is yours. You have to take it back." He no longer cared if he used the name or not.
The ranger moved forward one step, and another, and another. Maybe he, too, had to use the rough ways to make Frodo back to normal.
Unable to guess what Strider was doing, Frodo was backing away. Fear started to grow in him. A small stone tripped him, making him go sprawling to the ground. Frodo whimpered softly.
"Merry also said not to trust any ranger. He - he - " His lips were quivering now, trying hard not to break into sobs. "Dangerous folks, they are." And had brought him into deep misery, continued Frodo silently.
He glared frightfully as Strider stooped and squatted in front of him. The ranger grasped his shoulder, gently, but that made him squeak.
"No! Go away! Please!"
It seemed as if Frodo was about to be hysterical so Strider quickly pulled away. He tried to divert Frodo's attention to something else. The man pointed at the fading red spot on the hobbit's shirt.
"What is that, Frodo?" he asked carefully. "Was it - did Merry have anything to do with that?"
Breathing heavily, Frodo looked down to his, no, Merry's shirt. He shook his head.
"I - I was stabbed, I guess. But it's healed now. Ted cured me." Clouds had been covering his mind that he completely forgot about he kind-hearted outlaw. "Ted was there-" He directed his face to the back, and he caught his breath. The body he was pointing at no longer belonged to Ted. It was - just an empty shell. And the shell was punctured by an arrow on its back.
Frodo screamed, "Ted!!!"
The man was the only person who had never hurt him and who had always treated him nicely. Frodo ran to him. Dead. He only found a dead body.
Frodo kneeled down in front of it, bewildered. Oh, how he felt so weary.
"You did it, didn't you?" asked him to Strider without looking back, almost in a whisper. "Why?"
Strider was stunned by his behavior. What was this? Couldn't Frodo see who the ruffian was? The man didn't say anything.
"Why? Pray tell me why! I had just found someone who really cared and you had to come and end his life?"
Frodo could no longer hold back his emotion. He broke down, hugging Ted's much bigger shoulders tightly and sobbing hard.
He lay there for what seemed like hours; crying his heart out until he got exhausted and what was left were short hitches and - soft hums. Yes, that was true! Soft hums. Even Strider was hard to believe his ears. He saw Frodo almost like a small child who got tired after asking for something, not granted, and then went weeping and weeping. The child would usually feel so helpless afterwards that he had no idea what to do next. Strider felt like taking Frodo to his arms and rocking him to sleep.
"I did kill the guy," admitted the ranger finally. He knew Frodo was listening although the hobbit didn't make any movement. "I didn't know he was your friend, Frodo. I mean; I only saw that he was one of your captors. And I - I came to save you."
Frodo's ears strained. That was another lie, right? Nobody had come to rescue him, save perhaps Sam. But these big people, they always wanted something from him. Phil, to name one ---
So Frodo kept silent and stayed in his place. Exhaustion also brought him a drowsy feeling.
Then suddenly a sound emerged from nearby bushes.
"Frodo! Finally I found you, lad!"
Merry. He spoke as if Frodo were a little boy. His voice awakened Frodo at once. He turned around, looking up to the smirking hobbit both in relief and fear. Finally, someone who really cared for him!
Unconsciously, Frodo pulled himself off Ted's body quickly. It didn't escape Merry, though, who then flickered his eyes for a second.
Strider was startled to heat that voice again. That devilish hobbit! Only one thing was in his mind now. He had to prevent Merry from laying his hands on Frodo again!
As swift as a deer, Strider grabbed Frodo and pressed him hard against his chest. Surprised at the action, Frodo could only give in. He quivered slightly.
"M - m - merry," called him shakily.
"Yes, Frodo," Merry's smile widened. "You have nothing to fear. Your Merry is here."
Strider was shocked. YOUR Merry? He felt the hobbit squirm a little.
"Stop it!" Strider said to both hobbits. To Merry, he added,
"You'll never get Frodo back! Even if that means I can't put you under arrest for now. Now go away!"
Merry didn't pay him any attention. His eyes stuck to the frightened hobbit in the ranger's clutches.
"Are you hurt, Frodo? Are you frightened? You see. I told you not to believe any rangers.
Frodo nodded frantically.
"I don't! Help me, Merry. Please--" he pleaded pathetically.
"Of course I will. But," Merry glanced at some point behind Strider. "who is that, Frodo?" He nodded to Ted. "You were holding him when I came. Want to explain that to me?"
Frodo had to stop for a while to get what Merry was talking about. Then he remembered. Ted. No! Merry saw him hugging and crying over Ted! A terror suddenly crept in, and the memories of the beatings and all the other torments came flooding in.
"You don't like me anymore, Frodo?" Merry no longer smiled. His voice was as cold as ice. "Don't you remember that I'm the only friend you have?"
Trembled, Frodo whimpered, and shrank back to Strider's body. That gave more spirit to the ranger.
"We're getting out of here!" Strider snapped. He was about to step back and take Frodo with him when he felt a tip of - a sword - on his back.
"Oh, no, you're not. Let go of Frodo!" A voice came from behind. That was Pippin; the other hobbit Strider saw dragging Frodo at the Pony. The one he had never met personally yet.
TBC
Niphrandl: Frodo will be alright, don't worry.
Aelfgifu: I guess Merry didn't want Frodo to reunite with Sam yet.
Alisaundre: And, wow! All the praises - please! (blush) Glad you like it!
AndysPrincess: This humble writer is only able to go on because of you all! :)
Blue Jedi Hobbit: (Frodo blinks) "But, I'm rescued, right? Can I just go home and rest?" ^_^
Endymion: Hi! Thanks for your review. Well, let's see. In my place, I don't know how, but it's not only the spirit that is duplicated, but also the physical form. But even if Saruman can only do this for his spirit, he has to place it quickly to someone else's body. So the spirit can't go free for a long time. Otherwise, it will go back to the owner's body. But your idea about using Aragorn's body is not bad at all!
Warning: AU, angst
Chapter 34
"But he was dead," Frodo spoke now more to himself, as if in a swoon. "I saw him dead. Merry also said that he was dead. Yet he is here. WAS here. And now he's dead again, because of you!" Frodo looked around and grabbed a piece of wood that just happened to be there. He stood up and dashed toward the ranger.
Alarmed, Strider stood still and caught the wood the moment it was swung by the angered hobbit. Strider's face went hard, but full of pity toward Frodo. He even hadn't fully recovered. Strider could notice him swaying a little.
"Frodo, look- "
"You even know my name?" cut the hobbit quickly. "How? How!? Did you torture Sam to tell you my name? Did you force him to inform you everything, including about the ring?"
Torture? Oh! Strider was taken aback. Was Frodo just babbling about HIMSELF? Strider remembered Merry's words some time ago.
"Halfling, if this is how you prefer, I won't use your name. Listen, I'll tell you something. Someone threw a stone and it hit Sam's head, hard. He is not dead. He's just unconscious. You can see yourself. Sam will be awake soon. He'll be all right." Strider almost didn't stop to breathe in saying it all.
Frodo shook his head slowly. Doubtfully, nervously.
"No, no." He stepped back. "If Merry said he was dead, he was dead. Sam was gone. Since a long time ago. He would never return - to me again." His voice was one belonging to someone so despaired. Frodo cringed, his knees bending a little, as if reliving the pain that came unto his legs. He could almost feel the thrashing of the belt again.
"Merry, you said?" Strider's head tipped a little to the side. "Merry is a liar, Frodo." Oops, the ranger called him with his name again. He noticed how Frodo tensed.
"You have to believe me, HALFLING. Merry is treacherous. What he had done to you is evil. He only wants the ring."
Another mistake. Frodo was enflamed again.
"Then I'm right, aren't I? You knew about the ring. You also want that thing. Merry is not a liar! He already has the ring, so why would he still want to keep me? Why? Because - because he loves me!"
Strider's jaw dropped open. He knew that Merry had broken Frodo. But what exactly had that evil little thing done to Frodo that could make this poor creature so eager to defend him?
"Frodo, I don't want the ring. It is yours. You have to take it back." He no longer cared if he used the name or not.
The ranger moved forward one step, and another, and another. Maybe he, too, had to use the rough ways to make Frodo back to normal.
Unable to guess what Strider was doing, Frodo was backing away. Fear started to grow in him. A small stone tripped him, making him go sprawling to the ground. Frodo whimpered softly.
"Merry also said not to trust any ranger. He - he - " His lips were quivering now, trying hard not to break into sobs. "Dangerous folks, they are." And had brought him into deep misery, continued Frodo silently.
He glared frightfully as Strider stooped and squatted in front of him. The ranger grasped his shoulder, gently, but that made him squeak.
"No! Go away! Please!"
It seemed as if Frodo was about to be hysterical so Strider quickly pulled away. He tried to divert Frodo's attention to something else. The man pointed at the fading red spot on the hobbit's shirt.
"What is that, Frodo?" he asked carefully. "Was it - did Merry have anything to do with that?"
Breathing heavily, Frodo looked down to his, no, Merry's shirt. He shook his head.
"I - I was stabbed, I guess. But it's healed now. Ted cured me." Clouds had been covering his mind that he completely forgot about he kind-hearted outlaw. "Ted was there-" He directed his face to the back, and he caught his breath. The body he was pointing at no longer belonged to Ted. It was - just an empty shell. And the shell was punctured by an arrow on its back.
Frodo screamed, "Ted!!!"
The man was the only person who had never hurt him and who had always treated him nicely. Frodo ran to him. Dead. He only found a dead body.
Frodo kneeled down in front of it, bewildered. Oh, how he felt so weary.
"You did it, didn't you?" asked him to Strider without looking back, almost in a whisper. "Why?"
Strider was stunned by his behavior. What was this? Couldn't Frodo see who the ruffian was? The man didn't say anything.
"Why? Pray tell me why! I had just found someone who really cared and you had to come and end his life?"
Frodo could no longer hold back his emotion. He broke down, hugging Ted's much bigger shoulders tightly and sobbing hard.
He lay there for what seemed like hours; crying his heart out until he got exhausted and what was left were short hitches and - soft hums. Yes, that was true! Soft hums. Even Strider was hard to believe his ears. He saw Frodo almost like a small child who got tired after asking for something, not granted, and then went weeping and weeping. The child would usually feel so helpless afterwards that he had no idea what to do next. Strider felt like taking Frodo to his arms and rocking him to sleep.
"I did kill the guy," admitted the ranger finally. He knew Frodo was listening although the hobbit didn't make any movement. "I didn't know he was your friend, Frodo. I mean; I only saw that he was one of your captors. And I - I came to save you."
Frodo's ears strained. That was another lie, right? Nobody had come to rescue him, save perhaps Sam. But these big people, they always wanted something from him. Phil, to name one ---
So Frodo kept silent and stayed in his place. Exhaustion also brought him a drowsy feeling.
Then suddenly a sound emerged from nearby bushes.
"Frodo! Finally I found you, lad!"
Merry. He spoke as if Frodo were a little boy. His voice awakened Frodo at once. He turned around, looking up to the smirking hobbit both in relief and fear. Finally, someone who really cared for him!
Unconsciously, Frodo pulled himself off Ted's body quickly. It didn't escape Merry, though, who then flickered his eyes for a second.
Strider was startled to heat that voice again. That devilish hobbit! Only one thing was in his mind now. He had to prevent Merry from laying his hands on Frodo again!
As swift as a deer, Strider grabbed Frodo and pressed him hard against his chest. Surprised at the action, Frodo could only give in. He quivered slightly.
"M - m - merry," called him shakily.
"Yes, Frodo," Merry's smile widened. "You have nothing to fear. Your Merry is here."
Strider was shocked. YOUR Merry? He felt the hobbit squirm a little.
"Stop it!" Strider said to both hobbits. To Merry, he added,
"You'll never get Frodo back! Even if that means I can't put you under arrest for now. Now go away!"
Merry didn't pay him any attention. His eyes stuck to the frightened hobbit in the ranger's clutches.
"Are you hurt, Frodo? Are you frightened? You see. I told you not to believe any rangers.
Frodo nodded frantically.
"I don't! Help me, Merry. Please--" he pleaded pathetically.
"Of course I will. But," Merry glanced at some point behind Strider. "who is that, Frodo?" He nodded to Ted. "You were holding him when I came. Want to explain that to me?"
Frodo had to stop for a while to get what Merry was talking about. Then he remembered. Ted. No! Merry saw him hugging and crying over Ted! A terror suddenly crept in, and the memories of the beatings and all the other torments came flooding in.
"You don't like me anymore, Frodo?" Merry no longer smiled. His voice was as cold as ice. "Don't you remember that I'm the only friend you have?"
Trembled, Frodo whimpered, and shrank back to Strider's body. That gave more spirit to the ranger.
"We're getting out of here!" Strider snapped. He was about to step back and take Frodo with him when he felt a tip of - a sword - on his back.
"Oh, no, you're not. Let go of Frodo!" A voice came from behind. That was Pippin; the other hobbit Strider saw dragging Frodo at the Pony. The one he had never met personally yet.
TBC
