Ok – here is the next chapter. It takes us back to the fellowship, so sorry to those of you who are only interested in reading about Legolas and Aragorn. You see I have to keep to my original oath to write about all the characters equally. ^_^
I am sure you will all be pleased to know that eLLe (beta-reader) has contacted me. She was moving houses, and offers her apologies for her absence. She has also helped me brainstorm some wonderful plot ideas, so lets give her a collective cheer! ^_~
*GROWL* Okay – rather ticked off at ff.net. It deleted some of my reviews! I mean I know I got some because the number of reviews has increased but I cannot view them! I did get them in email format though so I was able to read them through once. Still, very annoying considering I am addicted to my reviews. If I missed anyone in my author's notes it is simply because I did not get your review for which I am sorry.
Welcome back SpaceVixenX! You have been missed! Also welcome to my newest reviews: Rain Minstrel & randomramblings!
Chapter #23 ~ A New Plan
Merry sat shivering lightly. This one sight was the worst of the journey yet. The Black Gate. Ominous and oppressive it rose mockingly, stopping the company's journey as quickly as it had begun. Merry laughed lightly, receiving concerned looks from the rest of the company as he did so.
"The Black Gate of Mordor," Gollum said solemnly, a trace amount of fear could be detected in his withered, strangled voice.
"This is hopeless," Merry stated softly. "How do you plan to get through that?" There was a cruel, mocking tone to Merry's voice, and although a part of him felt guilty for it, the other part did not care.
Pippin was dead. What else mattered?
"We will find a way," Gimli declared resolutely, his eyes dark with concentration as he took in the scene in front of them. With a small sigh the dwarf pulled off his helmet, and rubbed a hand wearily across his eyes and down the length of his beard.
Merry snorted, wholly unconvinced that they would succeed. They walked a doomed path, to a doomed mountain. What else was there to believe in? Merry had fully given himself over to depression and despair. How could hope exist when half of his soul had already perished?
Just thinking of Pippin, made Merry's eye's water, but he stubbornly blinked away the moisture. He had shed too many tears already, and shedding more would not bring life to the dead. If only they had gone to save them, instead of perishing out here in this forsaken land. He blamed Frodo for this. He still could not understand how his cousin could simply abandon a life long friend to orcs.
Looking at the ring-bearer now made Merry feel a swelling well of hatred bubble forth. Each time he looked upon Frodo the hatred and bitterness seemed to grow, reaching proportions that almost frightened Merry. He had not realized himself capable of such hate.
"May the Valar help us," Sam muttered, finally having found voice enough to speak.
"Do you have any ideas?" Gimli asked gruffly, looking towards Boromir, who did not look more optimistic in their chances than Merry himself.
After a deadly silence, Boromir sighed, "No."
"Master says to show him the way into Mordor, so good Smeagol does. Master says so!" Gollum chirped, now sounding slightly affronted by the lack of praise he was receiving for having completed what was asked of him.
"I did," Frodo said hollowly, his eyes large and round as he looked to the path ahead of them. "We must get through those gates somehow."
"We would be seen. Do not talk nonsense!" Merry snapped, hating even the sound of Frodo's voice. "We should never have come this way. We should have followed after Aragorn and Pippin. This is hopeless." There was an awkward silence following this small outbreak. It was obviously a doubt many of them were now sharing.
"We must try," Frodo stated simply. "I am not asking any of you to come with me. I think we all realize how... slim our chances of success are. I would not think any less of you if you did not want to attempt this."
"I am with you on this, Master Frodo. I will not leave you to do it alone," Sam stated firmly, as if daring anyone to dispute his right to accompany his friend.
"NO!" Gollum squealed. "Too dangerous it is, gollum. We must not let Him get the preciousss! He wants it."
"You are not allowed in the debate, you vile serpent," Sam snapped impatiently, "so hold your tongue."
"The gates are opening," Gimli said softly, drawing the companies attention once again back to the problem at hand. "Maybe we could just..." he trailed off with a slight hand gesture.
"Are you suggesting we just try running in!?" Boromir stammered out, looking at Gimli in astonishment. "We would be seen. It would be easier to simply scream out that we carry Isildur's bane and hand it over politely to the nearest Nazgul, for surely the outcome would be the same! You had better *not* be suggesting that!"
"Maybe we could sneak in," Gimli said firmly, finishing his earlier thought and ignoring the skepticism of Boromir's comment.
"Do you see all the scouts? The lookouts? There will be no sneaking past those. It is delusional to think we could. We cannot risk such a hasty and ill planned action. Such moves will ensure our failure," Boromir stated firmly, hoping against hope that he would not be out voted in this.
"Well, we cannot simply sit here either!" Gimli said, exasperation and weariness coating his tone.
"We should turn back and follow the orcs!" Merry said forcefully.
"There will be no turning back," Frodo stated, his tone brooking no contradiction.
"Since when did your word become undisputed? We are a fellowship, Frodo, or have you forgotten that?"
"Oh, Merry," Frodo's tone was laced with sorrow. "I have not forgotten. This fact weighs most heavily on my mind, but I will not take the ring back, not when we are this much closer to our goal. It is simply not an option."
"Then we are at an impasse," Boromir stated glumly. "For if we cannot either go forward or backwards, what else is there for us to do?"
"Maybe there is another way?" Sam questioned hesitantly.
No one spoke, all too disheartened to say more.
"A diversion?" Gimli finally voiced. "Maybe if a few of us created a scene, one or two individuals could slip through?"
"Whoever acted as the bait would be sacrificing themselves, and as you said, only one, *maybe* two people could slip through undetected. We would be leaving the ring unguarded for the remainder of the trip if we allowed Frodo to continue on alone," Boromir said, his brow furrowing in dislike at the idea. "Besides we don't know what there is beyond those gates. There might be several armies worth of orcs camped within. In which case we would have just let the ring run straight into the lion's mouth."
"I do not see another way," Gimli stated unhappily.
"We are all just going to have to think harder than, because nothing less then suicidal foolishness has been suggested so far," at this Boromir paused and looked at Frodo. "But the ring itself might be the answer. It could get you past those within, could it not Frodo. It would shield you from outside eyes. It would allow you to become invisible."
"Invisible to orcs maybe, but not to the nazgul, or the Eye. I would not risk it. Gandalf warned me to never put it on, for the enemy would be drawn to its power."
"No! No, no master! They'd catch you! They'd catch you! Don't take it to him! He wants the preciousss. Always he's looking for it! And the preciousss is wanting to go back to him. But we mustn't let him have it. There's another way. More secret and dark way." Gollum hissed, his long fingers clutching weakly at the front of Frodo's clothing.
"Why haven't you spoken before?!" Sam snapped, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Because Master did not ask," Gollum replied, shrinking back a ways, so that he was cowering behind Frodo's knees.
"He's up to something!" Sam said, looking at the rest of the company as he spoke.
"Are you saying there is another way into Mordor?" Frodo asked, ignoring Sam's outburst.
"Yes. There is a path, and some stairs, and then a tunnel," Gollum stated, his eyes large as they gazed up at the ring-bearer.
"He's lead us this far, Sam," Frodo said silently and the gardener was horrified to see Frodo considering the idea.
"Mr. Frodo, no," he whispered, pleadingly.
"He's been true to his word," Frodo insisted.
"No!" Sam repeated.
"Lead the way, Smeagol."
"Frodo," Boromir said, "are you sure you want to do this? We have no reason to trust this thing. He has been following us, stalking us. He only wants the ring."
"None of you have to follow me. There is no other way. We will not get through those gates, and if Smeagol knows another way it is more then any of us do. Do you want this quest to succeed?"
Gimli stood then, he faced Frodo for a long moment before speaking. "Young hobbit, I understand why you need to trust this creature. Do not let it blind you. Are you sure this is the path you wish to tread?"
Frodo stood stonily for a long moment. He knew he risked much in placing his faith in Gollum. He knew it down in his heart, yet he could not help it. As he looked upon Gollum, he saw himself. He saw what he could so easily become, and he needed to believe that even if he did fall so far he could earn his redemption, and heal. He needed to give Gollum to chance to recover.
"Lead the way, Smeagol," he repeated quietly.
~*~
The company cut south following Frodo's decision. They travelled quickly, talking rarely in their collective desire to put as much distance as possible between the Black Gates and themselves. Gollum proved to be a willing guild. He bounded ahead of the group with enthusiasm, pausing only to call to the group to hurry, something Boromir was having more and more trouble doing. The stab wound in his leg throbbed, and with each step the pain intensified. Yet Boromir gritted his teeth together and made no noise, or complaint.
Over the next two days the scenery softened, and living things once again could be seen. Lush trees and grass added colour and vitality to their path. It was a welcomed change to the cold stone of Mordor. Animals, too, became more common and so it was that the company became somewhat revived as they were serenaded by the cheerful songs of birds once again.
"I have been here before, or at least in this general area" Boromir stated to no one in particular. "Sometimes our scouts and rangers will come out this far out to observe enemy movement, and thwart it in whatever ways we are able. Gondor is so close," he added somewhat wistfully.
"You will see it again," Gimli stated, and Boromir momentarily wondered why the dwarf had felt it necessary to say so, but shrugged it off, for it was true. He would see Gondor again, he promised himself softly. His people would need him in the coming trials and he would serve them to his last breath.
The thought gave him much comfort, and a small sense of renewal.
"Let us stop to eat something," Sam spoke suddenly. "Frodo is wasting away before my eyes, and we are all tired. Let us cook up something. It will make us all feel better."
As soon as food was mentioned Boromir discovered that he too was starving. He shared a quick, silent conference with Gimli, before both nodded in agreement. The company sank gratefully and wearily to the ground, shrugging off the packs they carried from exhausted shoulders. For a moment all five were content to simply sit upon the ground, resting.
Then Sam was on his feet, purposefully gathering up the cooking equipment, a small smile of contentment on his face as he busied himself with doing that which he loved. It brought a small grin of amusement to Boromir's face, as well, as he watched the little hobbit at work.
It was then that Gollum bounded up and deposited two dead rabbits onto Frodo's lap. Boromir's nose wrinkled up in disgust, and Frodo himself jerked up into a straighter sitting posture.
"Look! Look! See what Smeagol finds! They are young, tender. They are nice. Yes they are! Eat them! Eat them!" the creature exclaimed, his eyes large, like a lost puppy who had finally found its keeper. It was a pathetic and pitiable display.
So the meal progressed, with Gollum and Sam arguing about the proper way by which the food should be made. It was amusing, and Boromir found himself chuckling lightly as he looked upon the two.
It was then he heard it. Light bird chirping noises, signals to those who knew how to decode them. They were made by people, his people! Rising quickly he slipped into the forest, muttering a quick order for the remained of the company to stay where they were. He moved as quietly as he was able to, forward, until he reached a steep embankment, below which an army moved.
Boromir studied them, and he felt himself growling in disgust. They were humans, Southerners of the Haradrim, slaves and servants to the will of the dark lord. They go to destroy my people, Boromir realized unhappily.
A sudden movement behind him, startled him back from his thoughts. He had half drawn his sword when he stopped, looking upon Gimli and the three hobbits.
"I told you to stay," Boromir snapped.
"We are not going to be separated," Gimli stated firmly, as his eyes took in the scene below them. "Besides, we should move on, now."
"Who are they?" Frodo asked, as he pulled himself forward, on his stomach, so that he lay along side of Boromir.
"They are the Haradrim. A desert people, who serve the dark lord. They go to wage his war against the rest of Middle Earth," Boromir replied quietly.
"It's an Oliphaunt!" Sam exclaimed suddenly, as the large mammal came lumbering into view, its huge trunks swaying back and forth as it walked.
"Where has Gollum gone?" Gimli asked suddenly. "We should go!"
"No! Listen," Boromir said, his heart feeling lighter then it had in days as more coded bird chirps sounded.
Then the fighting began.
The first arrows flew clear, finding their marks before the enemy even realized there was a problem. The five companions watched in silence as chaos erupted below them, the lingering screams of the dying echoing into silence.
"We are going, now!" Gimli said. The dwarf layed a heavy hand upon Frodo and dragged him backwards, yanking him to his feet once he was clear of being spotted. "Come!" he ordered to the remaining three companions.
"These are my people, Gimli. We should stay and request help."
"No, we have delayed long enough already. It is best none know our path at this stage," Gimli pressed. The dwarf was experiencing a growing feeling of dread. He, as Aragorn had done before him, had done everything within his power to prevent the ring from falling into the realm of Gondor's keeping, and now, he realized, he was about to fail in this task. There were soldiers here, Boromir was right, and although Gimli felt that Boromir was doing a marvellous job at fighting the temptation of the ring, he was unsure how the human's resolve would hold up when he had people at his command. Would Boromir be able to place the good of the fellowship above what he might perceive as the good of his country?
Gimli had hoped to never test this, yet, it was too late. Turning round the company was confronted with hooded men. For a moment none moved, before Boromir stepped forward uttering one word,
"Brother."
Ok – worry not! I plan to use book-verse Faramir and not movie verse. I remember when I read LOTR I thought that Faramir was one of the most noble characters in the book, and I was sad that he was somewhat villain-ized in the movie. So… just telling you all that.
Next chapter goes back to Aragorn, Legolas and Pippin! ^_~
A little treat for all of you. This is from a book called as "Bored of the Rings" which is a parody of LOTR. Hope you get a kick out of it as it makes fun of Boromir's dream:
"Finally Bromosel rose and addressed the Caucus. 'Much is now clear,' he said. 'I had a dream one night in Minas Troney in which seven cows ate seven bushels of wheat, and when they were finished they climbed a red tower and threw up three times, chanting, "Say it now and say it loud, I'm a cow and I'm proud." And then a figure robbed in white and bearing a pair of scales came forward and read from a slip of paper: Five-eleven's your height, one-ninety your weight. You cash in your chips around page eighty-eight."
Review Notes: Thanks for all the positive feedback!
Cheysuli ~ Medication sucks. I took my pills yesterday because I was having a bad day and it knocked me out for four hours. I hate pills. Anyway – I hope you are off yours by now. I am glad my writing can make you smile, and that you liked the little tender moment at the end of the last chapter between Eomer and Legolas. ^_^
Niori ~ Wow. This is eerie. I live actually quite close to you than. A few hours north of you in Quebec, so we both can lay claims to living at the ends of the earth. It is amazing how small the world really is. LOL – you are not annoying – and I never complain to long reviews. And, yes, I agree – elf ears are sexy.
Gwyn ~ I really hope that your finals go well. I know how stressful exams are and I will send good vibes in your direction. Best of luck with them. I am glad to know that once you are free of school obligations you will continue with your fic.
Elfling ~ Glad you liked the last chapter and I am pleased I did a good job at portraying Eowyn. She is the one strong female character (besides Galadriel) in LOTR and it was important to me that I did her justice. I was worried that she might have come off a little shallow in the last one but no one else seemed to think that so I guess I was just being overly worried. It was my pleasure to review your stories. I *really* enjoy reading them. LOL – spork of doom – I was threatened with a pitch fork earlier in the story but that is my first spork threat. *grin*
MoroTheWolfGod ~ I have heard of "Spirited Away" and someone else really recommended it to me but, no, I have not seen it yet. Was it any good? I have never been very big on anime (is that spelled right?) but I had a friend who really liked it and I watched Princess Mononoke (ok – I know I spelled *that* wrong) with her. I will keep my eyes open for it, thanks for recommending it. Anyway, here is more.
SpaceVixenX ~ LOL. I loved how Legolas glowed too. I think that it is a beautiful aspect to the elven race and your right, thanks to PJ for putting that in his movie *grin*. Glad you like my characterization. I understand and sympathize with ff.net acting up. It sometimes does not work for me either. Anyway, I am glad you are back!
Rain Minstrel ~ LOL - *blush* I am so glad you are enjoying this. I am so pleased you like the way I am writing the characters. They all have such wonderful personalities and it is very important to me that I do them all justice. LOL – I do have problems with my grammar. I think faster than I can type so when I am writing I make a ton of mistakes, and when I am editing I usually don't catch half of them. I took no offence at you pointing this out, so don't worry. Actually, I like having my errors brought to my attention. How else will I improve? eLLe has edited a couple of my chapters for me, and she does a wonderful job – she will once again start helping me now that she is done school and has a place to live again. But if she is ever unable to do a chapter I will take you up on your offer and send it to you! ^_^ Glad you liked my cliffhangers. Thanks for adding me to your favorites list, I am deeply flattered. ^_^
evil spapple pie ~ Oh! Glad you loved it! When I have reviewers like you, Cheysuli, merrylyn and Artemisa tell me, you like what I am writing it makes me so pleased because you have all been here since the beginning and your feedback means the most to me. Trust me when I say that Aragorn is going to keep both eyes on Legolas for a while, so no worries. You are right, Gandalf is invincible which is why I am going to wave around the fact that this story is AU, lol, as my defense. One of my first reviewers pointed that out to me after chapter one and it is a continued plot hole but I am hoping you guys will forgive me for it. *grin* Not good at writing?! You!? I know I only read your Harry Potter vignette but I still remember it months later. It moved me in a way few stories can. I remember how tragic it was. You are a *very* good writer and I hope that you will one day either do more HP stories or try a LOTR's one so that I can review you. I will have my beta-reader back shortly. Thanks for over looking my mistakes in that department – I know I need to improve in grammer – but practice makes perfect! ^_^ Sorry there was no Legolas in this one. Next chapter will be completely about them and it will most likely be a long one so I hope that makes up for it. Wow – that was a long note. ^_^
White Wolf ~ My fellow poet! You have no idea how excited that has me. Poetry is my passion and although I enjoy doing prose it is poetry that claims my heart. That final moment between Legolas and Eomer seemed to be a highlight for a few people and I am glad you all liked it… and you are right we had best not go into discussing Legolas' eyes because… well, we could probably discuss and drool over the topic for quite some time. ^_^ Glad you also liked the healing scene. I liked it too!
merrylyn ~ I am glad you liked the tender moment between Legolas and Eowyn. I know it was like three chapters ago you said there should be a quiet moment between the two and as soon as I read your review I had a plot bunny going in my head… I am pleased with how it turned out as well. LOL – I am glad it pleased you. Yeah – well the hair brush scene was just a little poke at how perfect Legolas always looked in the movie compared to Aragorn so I figured he has got to be somewhat fastidious about his appearance. As for the glowing… well… that was just the fan girl in me coming out, *sigh*. ^_~ Yeah – I felt that emotions would be running high from the last chapter. I mean all of our characters were exhausted, hurting or grieving in some fashion which is not a good combination which is why sparks sort of flew in a couple of instances. Glad you liked the reunion scene. I had fun with Pippin's mushroom line too. He is such a fun character to write. There will be another long character coming next week!
TrinityTheSheDevil ~ I am glad they are united once again too. Don't worry about short reviews, I am just pleased you left one! ^_^ I also know that sometimes you just don't have the time to write everything you would like to write in a review. If only life would just stop when I wanted to read fan fiction, lol. ^_^
randomramblings ~ Wow – nice of you to have read all of my story! Did you realize that was about 130 pages of text you read to catch up to where I had written. I think that is amazing. Glad you liked it and I am updating once a week on Fridays so I hope that is quick enough for you! ^_^
sirithiliel ~ Yay! Welcome back from your trip/vacation thing. I hope you had a good time and that story updates are coming once again soon from you! Legolas could probably catch up and I really debated about sending him but in the end Aragorn's logic won out and I decided to leave our elf where he was.
Angel of Death ~ Yay is a good word so I do not blame you for saying it a lot… I say it a lot too! Yep – Helm's Deep build up coming next chapter with lots of action concerning our ranger, elf and hobbit. Oh, I have read Lord of the Flies (the title of which refers to a pigs head – if I remember correctly - but I will not say any more so as to not ruin any surprises!). It was interesting. The movie was well done too… I did that when I was in grade nine. I have never heard of the other book but I hope for your sake it is interesting too! The next chapter should be pretty long… but I have not written it yet so I am not certain.
wellduh… ~ Yeah… I am mainly following movie just because I have seen that more recently but I try to incorporate aspects of the book into it as well – so that I can do as much justice to Tolkien as possible. Glad you find it interesting. *grin*
Rosie ~ LOL – I guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree. You go on thinking yourself as a mediocre writer and I will go on thinking that you are creative and have talent! ^_~ Yeah – I was happy that Legolas and Aragorn were united once again as well. They make a pretty great duo. Your review was one of the ones that was eaten by ff.net.
Artemisa ~ LOL! I am glad you found the opening of the last scene stimulating and sorry for making you drool, lol! ^_^ Yeah, a slow friendship is starting to form between Legolas and Eomer and it will only grow stronger as the story progresses. It was a long chapter – like double the length of any of my previous chapters – I just could not stop writing! Glad you liked it! Your review was one of the ones that was eaten by ff.net.
eLLe ~ I am so glad you are back and helping me with this story again! I am just so pleased I have someone offering advice and pointing out holes in my thinking. I need someone to point out my mistakes to me, and I could not have lucked out more when I asked you to be my beta-reader!!! ^_^