Nine Little Ring Bearers

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Chapter 10

"We must leave," Aragorn forced himself to stand up. "We must be far away from these hills before nightfall." He looked at his three sorrowful companions feeling sorry for them.

Boromir and Sam managed to rise wearily, but Frodo lied still on the rock. Sam begged him: "Master, please stand up! You don't want the orcs to get you, do you?" he asked, his voice turning desperate when Frodo did not move. Sam shook him by the shoulders, but Frodo only lied more heavily on the ground. "Get up, master Frodo, get up!" Sam commanded him. "The orcs and the balrog and everything will come and kill also the rest of us if we stay here," he tried. "We must go," his despairing voice broke.

Frodo knew their situation. "But would that be so terrible?" he asked bitterly. "We are going to be killed anyway, so why not here? No suffering anymore," he whispered darkly.

Sam burst out into tears. "No!" he hugged strongly his friend. "Try to hang on, master. We'll soon be in Lothlórien and surely the elves can help us."

The two men had been watching further away but now Aragorn hurried to Frodo and Sam. He stopped a few feet aside from them. "Sam," he started trying to sound as friendly as possible. "I wish you wouldn't be so near to Frodo."

Sam turned amazed at him. "What are you saying?" he got angry. "Do you mean I couldn´t comfort him when he himself can't?"

"We cannot trust to anyone of us. You know it, Sam," Aragorn stated. "That's why we shouldn't be too close to each other. We must see each other all the time, but not touch. This is just for the safe," he finished regretting. Forcedly Sam parted from Frodo, who furthermore laid on the rock, unwilling to move.

Boromir came also to the others. "Please Frodo. The Ring must be taken onwards. And it is your responsibility to take it," he said, having a slightly disapproving tone in his voice.

Aragorn glanced at Boromir with a suspicious look and then back to Frodo. "He is right," he had to admit. "We must at least try."

Slowly Frodo rose from the ground. He stared tightly to his companions and took a step backwards. Sam tried to support the weak and exhausted Ring Bearer but Frodo retreated out of his grasp. "We will go on," he agreed to the relief of the others. "But I will walk after you all. I want to guard your steps."

"Well then," Aragorn spoke after an astonished silence because of Frodo's words. "I will lead us and Boromir will come after me. Then Sam. Frodo may be the last one." He took his stuff from the ground and looked to the east. "We have many miles to go before we reach Lothlórien." He began to stride towards the forest.

Boromir headed after him. "If we ever reach it," he muttered.

The Fellowship started their rambling down the mountains, everyone glancing often over their shoulders to be sure that their friends, whom they could not trust anymore, were walking enough far away from them.

* * *

No-one spoke to each other during their journey until a great forest opened before the eyes of the companions.

"The Woods of Lothlórien!" Aragorn cried out and the Fellowship halted, staring at the grey stems and the golden leaves. The high old trees made them feel themselves so small and they remembered that they had not rested for many days.

"My legs won't move anymore, however I try," Sam complained. "Soon that someone of us who has killed everyone doesn't have to kill me anymore, because I'll be so tired that I cannot close my eyes and won't be able to sleep and the exhaustion will finish me because I'm so tired." Sam drew sharply breath after a too long sentence.

Normally Sam's ironic joke would have made his friends laugh, but now it only reminded them about the close danger. Instinctively everyone moved their hands towards their swords and threw furtive looks to the others.

Aragorn sighed deeply. "I'm afraid too that we'll have to sleep. We won't be able to reach the Gate without a short rest." Strider did not look so brave as he did in the beginning of their quest. "We'll sleep two guards on watch at the time. But let us go to the woods before the stop."

About ten feet from Aragorn stand Boromir who shouted at him: "Is there no other way?" he stared with suspicion at the dense forest.

Aragorn took a careful step towards him. "What do you mean? There'll be others beside us in Cerin Amroth and that'll be safer. And I do trust to Lady Galadriel's wisdom."

Boromir looked uneasy. "But those trees." Aragorn turned his eyes towards the quivering leaves. "The murderer," Boromir continued. "Whoever he is, he can kill easily there. If we walk near to each other, he can stab us. If we keep a distance, we won't be able to see everyone of us. The forest is too thick. And moreover I can't see any way how the elven queen could help us. Or maybe by taking the Ring to herself. . ."

"Don't continue!" Aragorn interrupted him forcibly. "You do not know the power of Galadriel. She is the last one of Noldor in Middle-Earth, and you shall not offend her." Aragorn started walking towards the trees, Sam and Frodo slowly following him. "And you seem to have thought quiet much about the ways how the murderer could kill us. . ." Aragorn carped to Boromir, who shook his head and bent it down, but stepped also under the unfamiliar trees.

* * *

The Fellowship walked a while forward in the forest. They crossed the river Nimrodel and also the hobbits had to wade through it, because they could not risk to get too close to each other. Even Sam and his master Frodo had to keep a distance of a five or six feet, though they had been reliable friends for very long. Soon the company turned from the path to a darker part of the forest, and saw a cluster of trees a short distance before them.

"We shall hold here!" Aragorn decided and quickly ran towards the cluster. The others were too weary to quicken their pace like that and followed him slower. Aragorn had just reached the trees when a shout stopped him.

"Daro!" he heard and immediately after that came a whistling noise. A group of whistling noises, which Aragorn could recognise as flying arrows. He turned around and heard a cry of pain. "Boromir!" he knew the voice and began to ran back where he came. He had not run far, when a group of green-clothed elves closed his way.

"Stop," they commanded him in the common language. "You have entered the Woods of Lothlórien without a permission." The elves held Aragorn and prevented him from leaving.

Panic started to grow inside Aragorn. "We are friends of the Lady of the Wood. I'm Aragorn, son of Arathorn," he tried to explain. "Please, let me see my friend. I believe he's been shot."

Hastily the elves let Aragorn go and he raced towards the cries of Boromir, the elves following him. Aragorn found his companions where he had departed from them. Frodo, Sam and four elves who were holding them had gathered around Boromir, who laid on the ground, two arrows sticking on his chest.

Aragorn looked disbelieving at the green-elves, who seemed reluctant to give an account about what had happened. Finally one of them spoke. "We heard sounds of footsteps and came to look what it was. We saw a warrior walking and we hid behind trees. For safe we aimed our bows at him. We had no mean to release the arrows!" the blond-haired elf defended. "But suddenly a scream, that sounded like some kind of a beast, scared us, and we discharged. Accidentally we hit him," the elf ended regretting and nodded towards Boromir, who was coughing up blood, Aragorn staying next to him.

"I managed to get myself killed without the murderer slaying me," Boromir said to Aragorn, failing to smile. "I am sorry," he whispered. Aragorn tried to calm him, conflicting thought crossing around in his own mind. Boromir was becoming seriously pale. "But I wasn't the murderer," he said emphatically. "I wasn't! I know you think so but it wasn't me." Giving the assurance was too hard for the victim of the accurately and mortally shot elven arrows, and the son of the Steward of Gondor died the future King of Gondor next to him.

Aragorn looked at his companion silently. "I am sorry for him," he heard an elf say. Aragorn turned his face toward Frodo and Sam, whose faces seemed to have a kind of relieved expression, though they were shocked.

"We will take you to Galadriel," the elves declared, and the Fellowship withdrew with them at once. The elves carried Boromir's body and left the three companions without further questioning.

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Oh, this chapter is kind of confusing, isn't it? So I wish to get reviews to tell that to me, and even better if you could advice how to make my story less confusing! Thanks!