Nine Little Ring Bearers
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Chapter 13
The sun of the next day rose up shining blue, cold light. The night would have been cold without Strider's fire. He had kept the fire going all night for the sake of the sleeping hobbits. Except that the hobbits had not sleep. Frodo had believed Sam's warnings and followed the passing of the night thinking and summoning courage.
Strider covered the extinguished fire with dust and walked silently towards the river. He had been this quiet ever since they left Lóthlorien, but now he seemed also somewhat wrathful. He had already reached the boat and was about to push it off when the hobbits ran to him. They cast condemning looks on him about almost leaving them to the shore, but Aragorn did not look back on them. He just grabbed the paddle and started to canoe them fast onwards.
It could have been Strider's fury or then the river was flowing stronger than before, but the views started to change quickly. Thick woods grew on the shores of the river. The hobbits might have wanted to ask about their location if they had not been waiting nervously the right moment to act. They could not communicate with each other except for with some meaningful looks that did not help much. Strider was now sitting so tightly and determinedly in the boat that Sam's idea did not seem so clever anymore as it used to.
Frodo was not anymore so sure about it that Strider would try to save him if he fell from the boat. "It will be me who's going to drown, it appears," he thought dimly.
Hours passed in unbreakable silence, and now the river clearly was going faster. But then he silence was broke down by a sudden sigh. Aragorn had stopped paddling and stared deeply in front of him. From the river rose two tremendous statues presenting two noble men with crowns. They had stretched their left hands towards the ones who were going to enter the kingdom of Gondor.
"Argonath", Strider whispered, totally enchanted by the statues.
Frodo woke also up from his thoughts. He admired not the statues but the change in Aragorn. His face had become soft and there was a never-ending abyss in his eyes.
But Sam had been ready. He took benefit from the weakening of Aragorn's attention and threw all his weight against him. Aragorn was utterly stupefied and Sam grasped the paddle from him. At this point Frodo had woken up and hurried to pull Aragorn's legs to shake his balance. When Sam hit Aragorn violently with the paddle at the same time, the hobbits manage to throw him over board. With a great splash he fell to the water and sank.
The surface became steady and the boat moved on. "So now we've got rid of hiiiiiiim," Sam could not finish his sentence when the boat trembled frantically and Aragorn lifted his face from the water. He was hanging from the end of the boat where Frodo was. Aragorn was reaching his hands towards Frodo but could not manage to get a grip of him. He fell unconscious and loosened his hold from the boat. Sam had hit him with the paddle. Frodo watched Strider's body falling behind him while Sam started to paddle.
"We've got to get away from here", Sam just said.
* * *
Without Strider Sam did not know where they were meant to go, but he was forced to take the boat to the shore when they heard the thunder of a waterfall. "We'll stay here for the night and change to the Eastern shore tomorrow", he told Frodo. "Tomorrow, I guess, we will have to leave the boats and start walking towards."
"Towards Mordor," Frodo finished. Sam was taken back with that name, but Frodo pronounced it steadily. "Sam", he began. "Even that place does not sound so frightening anymore, when we have survived from the worst that could be. There is no one anymore with us that we should rely on but would not know if we could trust to. We will fulfil our quest," he said trustfully.
Sam was not that satisfied. "But you've forgotten something and someone. Firstly, the orcs of Sauron. I bet he has sent masses of them to welcome us when we enter his land."
Frodo did not lose his spirit. "We have always known that. But the evil that grew from within our fellowship was far more dangerous. The orcs will not stop us, Sam! We have got the elven cloaks and everything!" he tried to cheer Sam up.
"And secondly," Sam continued even more darkly. "That creature Gollum. It won't be cheated by elven cloaks."
Frodo started to doubt. "But it could not have followed us on the river, could it?" he asked.
"It could have," Sam answered. "And it will follow us where ever we'll go. The ring hanging on your neck will be an easy piece for it."
Mentioning the ring made Frodo jump up to his feet. "Then we will have to continue. Now, immediately!" He started to prepare the boat for leaving, when a sound came from the woods on their side of the river.
The hobbits listened quietly and heard more sounds. Sounds of many feet touching the ground in a quick pace. Voices of an ill language.
"Orcs!" Sam spoke. "They are after the ring."
Frodo jumped to the boat. "Then we must go, hurry!"
But Sam did not move.
"Come, so they cannot catch us!" Frodo begged desperately.
"You don't see it, do you?" Sam asked calmly. Frodo stared at him. Sam continued: "There are orcs on the other shore too, they will catch us." The shouts from the woods were closer. "I said the ring hanging on your neck would be easy for them to take, but the ring in your finger."
"No!" Frodo screamed. "We cannot use it!"
Now Sam moved towards the boat. His voice started to rise. "But now it's the same as we were handing it to them. It's hopeless to try to destroy it without using it to our advantage. It will be madness to try to destroy it anyhow."
Frodo hit the paddle to the shore and was going to push the boat to the river. "Fine," his voice was breaking. "If you are afraid to do it, then I must go alone!" he cried.
Sam was fast. He jumped into the boat and thrust his sword into Frodo's chest. "You are not taking the ring away from me", he hissed between his teeth. "Give it to me!" he tore the chain from Frodo and closed the ring inside his fist.
Frodo was choking. The sword had pierced his heart and he could nearly breath. "So that is what you wanted? For how long?" he asked, with more disappointment than bitterness in his voice.
Sam held his fist against his chest and smiled wickedly. "For long, for long.and so much", he kept on hissing.
Frodo's cloak was coloured red with blood. "So long and so much, that you were able to kill all your friends. Including me", Frodo spoke quietly.
Suddenly the hissing stopped. "Kill?" Sam asked aghast. "No, no." he shook his head vigorously. "I was just protecting you. They were all after the ring, they could have done anything to you, I could not let it happen, not to my Master, no." he turned his look at Frodo and realised that he had died. "No, Master!" Sam yelled. "Don't you leave me, not your Sam!" he was hugging Frodo and shaking him from side to side, like he had been comforting a baby. "I didn't want you to go there without me. I didn't want you to get killed. Not now when we were together, just you and your Sam." His tears were falling on Frodo and mixed up with his blood.
The shrieks of the orcs were now very close. Sam did not have much time to think, but he did not want the orcs to bring shame to Frodo's body. He placed Frodo onto the floor of the boat. He put Frodo's hands on his chest and deposited Sting between them. Without even thinking he slipped also the ring in its chain to Frodo's neck. He gave a strong push to the boat and watched it starting to flow slowly towards the waterfall.
Now the orcs had come so close that they could see Sam. Because of their awful roars Sam's quite whisper was voiceless. "Don't you go without your Sam, Master." With a peaceful look on his face Sam turned around, threw away his sword and watched the orcs run at him.
* * *
Meanwhile a hissing creature had seen something small but golden travelling down the waterfall and dived after it.
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I started this story in January and I've had difficulties in beginning to write the last chapter. There have been no other readers except my cousin (thank you Zandrah!) for a long time and I guess you'll be the only one reading my ending. Anyway, I did it.
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Chapter 13
The sun of the next day rose up shining blue, cold light. The night would have been cold without Strider's fire. He had kept the fire going all night for the sake of the sleeping hobbits. Except that the hobbits had not sleep. Frodo had believed Sam's warnings and followed the passing of the night thinking and summoning courage.
Strider covered the extinguished fire with dust and walked silently towards the river. He had been this quiet ever since they left Lóthlorien, but now he seemed also somewhat wrathful. He had already reached the boat and was about to push it off when the hobbits ran to him. They cast condemning looks on him about almost leaving them to the shore, but Aragorn did not look back on them. He just grabbed the paddle and started to canoe them fast onwards.
It could have been Strider's fury or then the river was flowing stronger than before, but the views started to change quickly. Thick woods grew on the shores of the river. The hobbits might have wanted to ask about their location if they had not been waiting nervously the right moment to act. They could not communicate with each other except for with some meaningful looks that did not help much. Strider was now sitting so tightly and determinedly in the boat that Sam's idea did not seem so clever anymore as it used to.
Frodo was not anymore so sure about it that Strider would try to save him if he fell from the boat. "It will be me who's going to drown, it appears," he thought dimly.
Hours passed in unbreakable silence, and now the river clearly was going faster. But then he silence was broke down by a sudden sigh. Aragorn had stopped paddling and stared deeply in front of him. From the river rose two tremendous statues presenting two noble men with crowns. They had stretched their left hands towards the ones who were going to enter the kingdom of Gondor.
"Argonath", Strider whispered, totally enchanted by the statues.
Frodo woke also up from his thoughts. He admired not the statues but the change in Aragorn. His face had become soft and there was a never-ending abyss in his eyes.
But Sam had been ready. He took benefit from the weakening of Aragorn's attention and threw all his weight against him. Aragorn was utterly stupefied and Sam grasped the paddle from him. At this point Frodo had woken up and hurried to pull Aragorn's legs to shake his balance. When Sam hit Aragorn violently with the paddle at the same time, the hobbits manage to throw him over board. With a great splash he fell to the water and sank.
The surface became steady and the boat moved on. "So now we've got rid of hiiiiiiim," Sam could not finish his sentence when the boat trembled frantically and Aragorn lifted his face from the water. He was hanging from the end of the boat where Frodo was. Aragorn was reaching his hands towards Frodo but could not manage to get a grip of him. He fell unconscious and loosened his hold from the boat. Sam had hit him with the paddle. Frodo watched Strider's body falling behind him while Sam started to paddle.
"We've got to get away from here", Sam just said.
* * *
Without Strider Sam did not know where they were meant to go, but he was forced to take the boat to the shore when they heard the thunder of a waterfall. "We'll stay here for the night and change to the Eastern shore tomorrow", he told Frodo. "Tomorrow, I guess, we will have to leave the boats and start walking towards."
"Towards Mordor," Frodo finished. Sam was taken back with that name, but Frodo pronounced it steadily. "Sam", he began. "Even that place does not sound so frightening anymore, when we have survived from the worst that could be. There is no one anymore with us that we should rely on but would not know if we could trust to. We will fulfil our quest," he said trustfully.
Sam was not that satisfied. "But you've forgotten something and someone. Firstly, the orcs of Sauron. I bet he has sent masses of them to welcome us when we enter his land."
Frodo did not lose his spirit. "We have always known that. But the evil that grew from within our fellowship was far more dangerous. The orcs will not stop us, Sam! We have got the elven cloaks and everything!" he tried to cheer Sam up.
"And secondly," Sam continued even more darkly. "That creature Gollum. It won't be cheated by elven cloaks."
Frodo started to doubt. "But it could not have followed us on the river, could it?" he asked.
"It could have," Sam answered. "And it will follow us where ever we'll go. The ring hanging on your neck will be an easy piece for it."
Mentioning the ring made Frodo jump up to his feet. "Then we will have to continue. Now, immediately!" He started to prepare the boat for leaving, when a sound came from the woods on their side of the river.
The hobbits listened quietly and heard more sounds. Sounds of many feet touching the ground in a quick pace. Voices of an ill language.
"Orcs!" Sam spoke. "They are after the ring."
Frodo jumped to the boat. "Then we must go, hurry!"
But Sam did not move.
"Come, so they cannot catch us!" Frodo begged desperately.
"You don't see it, do you?" Sam asked calmly. Frodo stared at him. Sam continued: "There are orcs on the other shore too, they will catch us." The shouts from the woods were closer. "I said the ring hanging on your neck would be easy for them to take, but the ring in your finger."
"No!" Frodo screamed. "We cannot use it!"
Now Sam moved towards the boat. His voice started to rise. "But now it's the same as we were handing it to them. It's hopeless to try to destroy it without using it to our advantage. It will be madness to try to destroy it anyhow."
Frodo hit the paddle to the shore and was going to push the boat to the river. "Fine," his voice was breaking. "If you are afraid to do it, then I must go alone!" he cried.
Sam was fast. He jumped into the boat and thrust his sword into Frodo's chest. "You are not taking the ring away from me", he hissed between his teeth. "Give it to me!" he tore the chain from Frodo and closed the ring inside his fist.
Frodo was choking. The sword had pierced his heart and he could nearly breath. "So that is what you wanted? For how long?" he asked, with more disappointment than bitterness in his voice.
Sam held his fist against his chest and smiled wickedly. "For long, for long.and so much", he kept on hissing.
Frodo's cloak was coloured red with blood. "So long and so much, that you were able to kill all your friends. Including me", Frodo spoke quietly.
Suddenly the hissing stopped. "Kill?" Sam asked aghast. "No, no." he shook his head vigorously. "I was just protecting you. They were all after the ring, they could have done anything to you, I could not let it happen, not to my Master, no." he turned his look at Frodo and realised that he had died. "No, Master!" Sam yelled. "Don't you leave me, not your Sam!" he was hugging Frodo and shaking him from side to side, like he had been comforting a baby. "I didn't want you to go there without me. I didn't want you to get killed. Not now when we were together, just you and your Sam." His tears were falling on Frodo and mixed up with his blood.
The shrieks of the orcs were now very close. Sam did not have much time to think, but he did not want the orcs to bring shame to Frodo's body. He placed Frodo onto the floor of the boat. He put Frodo's hands on his chest and deposited Sting between them. Without even thinking he slipped also the ring in its chain to Frodo's neck. He gave a strong push to the boat and watched it starting to flow slowly towards the waterfall.
Now the orcs had come so close that they could see Sam. Because of their awful roars Sam's quite whisper was voiceless. "Don't you go without your Sam, Master." With a peaceful look on his face Sam turned around, threw away his sword and watched the orcs run at him.
* * *
Meanwhile a hissing creature had seen something small but golden travelling down the waterfall and dived after it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
I started this story in January and I've had difficulties in beginning to write the last chapter. There have been no other readers except my cousin (thank you Zandrah!) for a long time and I guess you'll be the only one reading my ending. Anyway, I did it.
