Nine Little Ring Bearers



I don´t own the characters.

It´s twelve o´clock in the night but I want at least to start a new chapter.

Warning! This is the first not-so-nice chapter. Be prepared for the worst.

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Chapter 3

"Hide! Wake up and hide! Quick!"

The sun had already risen when Legolas´s shout woke up everyone. "What is it?" Gimli asked angrily. "Why did you wake us up?"

"It´s the crebain from Dunland!" Legolas shouted. He was standing far away from the others, observing the horizont. "Hide quickly somewhere! The black cloud is coming closer!"

Everyone ran around looking for a hiding place. Sam pushed sleepy Merry and Pippin under a boulder, Aragorn threw Frodo into a thick bush. Soon there was no sign of the nine companions.

Creepy high screams were heard in the sky when the black birds flew over the hiding place. A shadow moved over the opening, the sun was covered for a few seconds. The Fellowship waited a long time laying still behind rocks, bushes and trees. The hobbits had closed their eyes and tried to breath without a sound.

After a long time Gandalf dared to step back into the twilight. "They have gone for now," he said wearily. "I hope we hid enough well and fast."

Aragorn had been hiding nearby and he walked to Gandalf. "What were they? I have never seen such a big flock of birds before. And such dark," he ended gazing at Gandalf.

"Saruman´s spies. He is looking for the Ring."

Aragorn sighed. "First the Nazgúls and now Saruman. At least our fire wasn´t burning anymore, hopefully they didn´t notice us."

Gandalf shaked his head. "We have not been careful enough. Evil things can happen if continue like this." Gandalf looked around him. "We have to go on now. If we are fast enough, Saruman may not make our journey even more difficult. Come out everyone. We are safe for now."

Boromir, Gimli, Sam and Frodo rose up from their hiding places and walked towards Gandalf and Aragorn. "Where are the rest of us?" Aragorn asked when no-one else came to the opening. "I thought we all hid near. Come out! The birds have gone!" he called out while looking under bushes.

A small voice was heard behind him. "Come on Pippin. Gandalf won´t be too happy if he has to wait for us," it said.

"No. No. I don´t want to hear that squeal again. It makes my heart stop," Pippin´s shaking voice defended.

Merry laughed forcedly. "At least your heart works for now. Those birds could have found us only be following the sound of your heart beats," he said angrily to Pippin. "Now, up!" And he pushed Pippin upward and straight towards Aragorn.

"There you are," Aragorn said scolding. "You have to forget your fears, Pippin. You will have to face them all the time." A suspicious tone was in Aragorn´s voice when he looked at the empty place of the ninth companion. "Where has Legolas gone? He should hear our voices even if he was far away."

"Maybe he is watching somewhere for more crebain," Gandalf tried to encourage the rest of the Fellowship. He raised his voice to an echoing yell. "Legolas! Legolas! We are here!"

A deep silence followed when the echoing had stopped. No sign of the elf. The Fellowship waited suspensed.

Boromir broke the quiet. "We´ll have to go looking for him. We can´t waste any time." He divided the companions into three groups. "You´ll go there," he pointed to Gandalf and Gimli. "You four stay here and tell us if he comes back," he told to the hobbits. "Aragorn, will you come with me? Let´s go there." Boromir and Aragorn started heading towards the place they had seen Legolas for the last time.

The hobbits walked around the opening in panic. "I hope nothing has happened to him," Pippin cried. "We are still far away from Mordor. We can´t start dying now."

"Don´t talk about dying!" Sam screamed. "Nobody is dying here. Nothing could happen to Legolas. He´s an elf, after all," he asserted. "How come you have so gloomy thoughts nowadays, Pippin?" Sam looked wondering at Pippin.

"How come?!" Pippin face became red from anger behind his tears. "I suppose I should be happy all the time. All the Nazgúl and crebain and orcs and dragons flying after us. Yes, there´s nothing to worry about, Sam."

"What is all this noise?" Gimli came to the hobbits. "I thought we had to find Legolas." Gandalf walked behind him.

Frodo looked wretched at the arrivers. "You didn´t see him?" he asked weakly.

Gandalf breathed heavily. "No we didn´t. But I´m sure that Aragorn and Boromir will."

At that same moment they saw Aragorn coming closer. But only his back could be seen. When he walked closer to Gandalf, Gimli and the hobbits they saw also Boromir. And that what Aragorn and Boromir carried between them. The six members of the Fellowship could not move. They only waited.

Aragorn and Boromir carried Legolas´s frail body. They lowered him to the ground in the middle of the Fellowship. He was lying still.

"We found him behind the hill where he had seen the crebain," Boromir told them, almost crying. "He´s dead."

The remaining Fellowship looked without believing their eyes at Legolas´s beautiful face, which had become pale white.

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I´m so sorry, Legolas-fans. I had to do that! If you didn´t like what happened in this chapter, do not read further.

Thanks to my cousin, I couldn´t describe dead :( Legolas all alone.