Author's Note:
Bookworm2000: ACK! You have seen through my nefarious plan! Just for that, you WILL have to wait to see what happens to our intrepid hobbits! Bwahahahaha!
Person-With-Cheesy-Made-Up-Names: OK, here it is! The next chapter. But perhaps, it is not quite what you were hoping for?
Amrun: Welcome back! I've missed you! Hope you're feeling better!
Now: Will Sam save Merry or will Merry have his head made into a necklace for Gorek? These questions and more WILL be answered..eventually. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
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Chapter 13 Frodo
Gandalf and the others spent the night in the cave, waiting until it was light enough to follow Merry and Sam's trails. Aragorn feared they would miss them if they tried to travel in the dark. Pippin kept a vigil by Frodo all through the long, cold hours. It was near dawn when Pippin noticed Frodo beginning to stir.
"Frodo?" Frodo's eyes flickered at the sound of his name, then slowly slid open. Staring down at him was Pippin's pale, worried face. "Frodo? Can you hear me?"
"Pippin?" Pippin sighed with relief as he gripped his cousin's hand.
"Yes!" he smiled encouragingly, "It's me! How do you feel?"
Frodo considered this for a moment. He moved his head slightly and immediately regretted it. He frowned in confusion. "What happened?" he croaked.
"You don't remember?" asked Pippin apprehensively. He was hoping that Frodo would recall what had befallen him the day before. Pippin was not eager to inform his cousin of Sam's betrayal.
"Nooo," replied Frodo slowly, but he was distracted by another sensation, that of a profound loss and yearning. His right hand suddenly reached up and groped for the Ring that no longer hung around his neck. "Where is it!?" he cried desperately, "Where is the Ring?" Frodo turned accusing eyes on Pippin and hissed, "What have you done with it?"
Pippin sat back in alarm. He was shocked by Frodo's fierce reaction to losing the Ring even though Gandalf had warned him this might happen. Pippin bit his lip, trying to decide the best way to tell Frodo what had happened, and quickly decided there was nothing to do but have out with it. "Sam took it," he blurted miserably, "He attacked you yesterday and took the Ring. Gandalf thinks that somehow Saruman put a spell on him and made him do it!" he added quickly. "Otherwise, Sam would never have hurt you!" Pippin watched nervously as Frodo's face quickly changed from disbelief to surprise, then sharp anger.
"I knew it!" seethed Frodo furiously gripping the blanket . "That sniveling coward! Always following me, always watching me! He's wanted it for himself all along!
Pippin's mouth hung open in astonishment. He felt a little frightened of the hobbit lying before him. He had never seen Frodo behave this way. "It.it wasn't really Sam's fault." he ventured hesitantly. "Gandalf said that Sam has probably been fighting Saruman's Command ever since he was rescued from the Uruk-hai. You know that Sam's been having terrible headaches.. Gandalf thinks that's why!"
Frodo turned on him, eyes flashing, "Headaches! HA! What do I care about headaches!? Sam stole my Ring! I hope some orc tears him limb from limb! It's the least he deserves!" Then, as suddenly as it had come, his anger drained away. Frodo raised his hand to his pounding head. "Oh, Pippin!" he moaned wearily, "What am I saying!? I know Sam would never willingly hurt me, yet here I am accusing him of the most terrible things." He closed his burning eyes. "Where is he now?"
Pippin sighed bleakly. "We don't know. He attacked you and disappeared. Gandalf said one of the Nine is still out there somewhere and will be drawn to the Ring. He also thinks Saruman has some of those big orcs out there watching for Sam as well. Things don't look too good." He hesitated a moment, then said, "Merry has gone after him."
Frodo stared up at the ceiling. As desperate as he was to regain the Ring, he was even more anxious to find his dear friends alive and well. How had things managed to go so wrong so quickly? He sighed unhappily and closed his eyes again.
"Frodo?" Frodo turned and saw Gandalf kneeling beside him. "How do you feel?"
"Oh Gandalf!" he sighed, "I feel terrible! Sam and Merry are gone and it's all my fault!" He said nothing of his desperate craving to find the Ring. Just thinking about it caused his anger to flare again. If he ever laid hands on that Samwise Gamgee..
"Frodo," said Gandalf quietly, breaking into this thoughts, "None of this is your fault. It is Sauron's fault for forging the Ring in the first place. It is Saruman's fault for bewitching Sam and causing the avalanche. However, and I repeat, none of this is your fault!"
Aragorn now joined them. He smiled at Frodo and gently checked his bandages. "I think you will live," he said, "A nasty knock on the head and a touch of frostbite. Otherwise, you seem to survived your ordeal in one piece. I believe some nourishment is in order." Strider said this lightly, but noting the fierce, burning intensity in Frodo's eyes, he exchanged worried looks with Gandalf.
Frodo wasn't sure he could swallow anything. His throat felt tight and constricted. He couldn't help thinking about the Ring. Where was it? Would he ever get it back? His reverie was interrupted by Gimli's appearance with some breakfast. Aragorn and Gandalf helped Frodo sit up and leaned him against a nearby boulder. "Eat up, young hobbits!" boomed the dwarf, "Nothing like hot porridge to warm the bones on a raw mornin' such as this!" Frodo weakly smiled his thanks and with some effort, managed to swallow some of the thick mixture. Surprisingly, it did begin to revitalize him.
The others were beginning to pack up. Pippin sat beside Frodo, his own bowl empty in his hands. "We're going to try and track down Sam and Merry," he told Frodo quietly. "Aragorn thinks we should be able to follow their trail without too much trouble." He paused, biting his lip and studying his bowl worriedly, "I..I just hope we're not too late."
Frodo looked at his young cousin and laid a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Pippin." he smiled, "If anyone can find them, Strider can." Leaning back he though grimly to himself, "He'd better."
It wasn't long before they were all ready to go. It was decided that neither of the hobbits was in any shape for extensive walking, so again, Boromir carried Pippin and Legolas carried Frodo. This allowed Aragorn the freedom to track the missing hobbits. They were going on the belief that Sam would head south towards Isengard. They hadn't gone too far before Aragorn spotted the first sign - one of Merry's footprints. "At least we have found one of them, " he said hopefully. "Let up pray that he is on the trail of the other!"
Bookworm2000: ACK! You have seen through my nefarious plan! Just for that, you WILL have to wait to see what happens to our intrepid hobbits! Bwahahahaha!
Person-With-Cheesy-Made-Up-Names: OK, here it is! The next chapter. But perhaps, it is not quite what you were hoping for?
Amrun: Welcome back! I've missed you! Hope you're feeling better!
Now: Will Sam save Merry or will Merry have his head made into a necklace for Gorek? These questions and more WILL be answered..eventually. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
______________________________________________________________________
Chapter 13 Frodo
Gandalf and the others spent the night in the cave, waiting until it was light enough to follow Merry and Sam's trails. Aragorn feared they would miss them if they tried to travel in the dark. Pippin kept a vigil by Frodo all through the long, cold hours. It was near dawn when Pippin noticed Frodo beginning to stir.
"Frodo?" Frodo's eyes flickered at the sound of his name, then slowly slid open. Staring down at him was Pippin's pale, worried face. "Frodo? Can you hear me?"
"Pippin?" Pippin sighed with relief as he gripped his cousin's hand.
"Yes!" he smiled encouragingly, "It's me! How do you feel?"
Frodo considered this for a moment. He moved his head slightly and immediately regretted it. He frowned in confusion. "What happened?" he croaked.
"You don't remember?" asked Pippin apprehensively. He was hoping that Frodo would recall what had befallen him the day before. Pippin was not eager to inform his cousin of Sam's betrayal.
"Nooo," replied Frodo slowly, but he was distracted by another sensation, that of a profound loss and yearning. His right hand suddenly reached up and groped for the Ring that no longer hung around his neck. "Where is it!?" he cried desperately, "Where is the Ring?" Frodo turned accusing eyes on Pippin and hissed, "What have you done with it?"
Pippin sat back in alarm. He was shocked by Frodo's fierce reaction to losing the Ring even though Gandalf had warned him this might happen. Pippin bit his lip, trying to decide the best way to tell Frodo what had happened, and quickly decided there was nothing to do but have out with it. "Sam took it," he blurted miserably, "He attacked you yesterday and took the Ring. Gandalf thinks that somehow Saruman put a spell on him and made him do it!" he added quickly. "Otherwise, Sam would never have hurt you!" Pippin watched nervously as Frodo's face quickly changed from disbelief to surprise, then sharp anger.
"I knew it!" seethed Frodo furiously gripping the blanket . "That sniveling coward! Always following me, always watching me! He's wanted it for himself all along!
Pippin's mouth hung open in astonishment. He felt a little frightened of the hobbit lying before him. He had never seen Frodo behave this way. "It.it wasn't really Sam's fault." he ventured hesitantly. "Gandalf said that Sam has probably been fighting Saruman's Command ever since he was rescued from the Uruk-hai. You know that Sam's been having terrible headaches.. Gandalf thinks that's why!"
Frodo turned on him, eyes flashing, "Headaches! HA! What do I care about headaches!? Sam stole my Ring! I hope some orc tears him limb from limb! It's the least he deserves!" Then, as suddenly as it had come, his anger drained away. Frodo raised his hand to his pounding head. "Oh, Pippin!" he moaned wearily, "What am I saying!? I know Sam would never willingly hurt me, yet here I am accusing him of the most terrible things." He closed his burning eyes. "Where is he now?"
Pippin sighed bleakly. "We don't know. He attacked you and disappeared. Gandalf said one of the Nine is still out there somewhere and will be drawn to the Ring. He also thinks Saruman has some of those big orcs out there watching for Sam as well. Things don't look too good." He hesitated a moment, then said, "Merry has gone after him."
Frodo stared up at the ceiling. As desperate as he was to regain the Ring, he was even more anxious to find his dear friends alive and well. How had things managed to go so wrong so quickly? He sighed unhappily and closed his eyes again.
"Frodo?" Frodo turned and saw Gandalf kneeling beside him. "How do you feel?"
"Oh Gandalf!" he sighed, "I feel terrible! Sam and Merry are gone and it's all my fault!" He said nothing of his desperate craving to find the Ring. Just thinking about it caused his anger to flare again. If he ever laid hands on that Samwise Gamgee..
"Frodo," said Gandalf quietly, breaking into this thoughts, "None of this is your fault. It is Sauron's fault for forging the Ring in the first place. It is Saruman's fault for bewitching Sam and causing the avalanche. However, and I repeat, none of this is your fault!"
Aragorn now joined them. He smiled at Frodo and gently checked his bandages. "I think you will live," he said, "A nasty knock on the head and a touch of frostbite. Otherwise, you seem to survived your ordeal in one piece. I believe some nourishment is in order." Strider said this lightly, but noting the fierce, burning intensity in Frodo's eyes, he exchanged worried looks with Gandalf.
Frodo wasn't sure he could swallow anything. His throat felt tight and constricted. He couldn't help thinking about the Ring. Where was it? Would he ever get it back? His reverie was interrupted by Gimli's appearance with some breakfast. Aragorn and Gandalf helped Frodo sit up and leaned him against a nearby boulder. "Eat up, young hobbits!" boomed the dwarf, "Nothing like hot porridge to warm the bones on a raw mornin' such as this!" Frodo weakly smiled his thanks and with some effort, managed to swallow some of the thick mixture. Surprisingly, it did begin to revitalize him.
The others were beginning to pack up. Pippin sat beside Frodo, his own bowl empty in his hands. "We're going to try and track down Sam and Merry," he told Frodo quietly. "Aragorn thinks we should be able to follow their trail without too much trouble." He paused, biting his lip and studying his bowl worriedly, "I..I just hope we're not too late."
Frodo looked at his young cousin and laid a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Pippin." he smiled, "If anyone can find them, Strider can." Leaning back he though grimly to himself, "He'd better."
It wasn't long before they were all ready to go. It was decided that neither of the hobbits was in any shape for extensive walking, so again, Boromir carried Pippin and Legolas carried Frodo. This allowed Aragorn the freedom to track the missing hobbits. They were going on the belief that Sam would head south towards Isengard. They hadn't gone too far before Aragorn spotted the first sign - one of Merry's footprints. "At least we have found one of them, " he said hopefully. "Let up pray that he is on the trail of the other!"