Chapter 11 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

CassieOwls: Yay! You've returned! *happy dance* I write this chapter just because you're back!

Melilot: Yes, it was quite short. And I put that JRD line in there on purpose, just for you, luv! ;)

Butterfly: Glad to clear things up for you! *takes a cookie and dances to fanfare*

Disclaimer: I don't own LotR. I own this story, which is LotR based. But don't give me credit for the literary genius of Tolkien.

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The Fellowship departed in boats along the Anduin, after the Lady Galadriel presented them each with gifts. Lexi and Meridol had been given beautiful Elven necklaces. The Lady said that the charms would bring them protection from harm. Lexi highly doubted this, but was grateful anyway. After all had been given gifts, they packed up three boats. Into one went Aragorn, Frodo and Sam. Into another was Boromir, Merry, Pippin and Lexi. The final boat held Legolas, Gimli and Meridol.

Meridol was feeling a bit awkward riding with Legolas and Gimli, as she had never really spoken to either of them much. But it wasn't long before she was laughing and talking happily with both of them. Merry continually glanced over at her from his boat, his expression getting more disgruntled each time. Lexi snickered.

"Merry, love, are you jealous of the Dwarf?" she teased.

"No, I am not jealous of Gimli," Merry retorted, folding his arms across his chest.

Pippin smirked. "Aye, he's jealous of Legolas." Lexi laughed. Merry shifted uneasily.

"Perhaps I can throttle the bugger in his sleep," he muttered. Pippin and Lexi snorted with an attempt at suppressing their laughter. Boromir glanced down at them curiously, but before he could say anything, something caught his eye. He looked up quickly, patting Merry's shoulder.

"Look," he said softly. The three hobbits peered upward. Towering before them were two stone statues, one on either side of the river, palms held outward in a sort of foreboding message. The statues had to be at least one million times the size of a hobbit, surely. It was an astounding sight to be held.

"Who are they?" Lexi asked Boromir, still gazing at them in awe.

"They are of Aragorn's kin," he told her. "He would know more about them than I, miss."

* * *

They stopped to make camp beside the Falls of Rauros. Aragorn said that they would cross the lake after the sun had set, as Orcs patrolled the opposite shore. From there, they were to travel through the Emyn Muil, which according to Gimli was "an impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks". To follow was the Dead Marshes, and just beyond that lay Mordor.

The least of Lexi's worries were sharp rocks and dead marshes. She was worried about Frodo. He had taken to not eating and she knew that he could not be getting very much sleep either. He always looked exhausted and somewhat sickly. Sam was always trying to get him to eat, but as for Lexi, she had almost ceased to talk to him completely. There was something going on with him that she did not understand, and she felt it wasn't her place to question him.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Merry dropping a pile of firewood beside the campfire and looking around. "Where's Frodo?" Beside her, Sam jumped up. Aragorn sent them off into the woods to look for him. Meridol and Merry went one way, and Pippin followed them, not knowing where else to go. Sam and Lexi went another way, while Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas went a third.

"Sam, slow down!" Lexi called as the Gamgee hurried off into the forest, shouting his master's name. "Sam! We're supposed to stay together! Sam!" But he was gone now. Lexi sighed in frustration. "I better go back to camp before I get lost." She turned around and began walking.

It wasn't long before she stopped and realized: she already was lost.

* * *

"Frodo!"

"Frodo!"

"Frodo, where are you?"

Meridol let out a loud sigh and sat down on a nearby log. "Let's face it. There is no chance that we'll find him in these woods. He could be anywhere. For all we know, he's headed back to Lothlorien."

"Why would he do that?" Pippin questioned. "It's a long walk back, and even if he did, it would be a lot easier for the enemy to find him there. . .wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps," Merry said, seating himself beside Meridol. "But where would you feel safer, Pip? On the shore of a river with ten others? Or in the middle of a forest being protected by hundreds of Elves?"

Pippin sat down next to his cousin. "Elves, most definitely the Elves."

"And so, I would take it, does Frodo."

"But leaving without saying good bye to any of us?" Pippin said, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Without telling anyone? Not even Lexi?"

Meridol shook her head. "She would have only followed him. And then she would have told me about it, and I would have gone, so Merry would have gone, and then you would have gone and soon the entire Fellowship would have gone, and Frodo would've been back where he started from."

Pippin was about to reply, when all of a sudden a load roar erupted from the distance. Someone was shouting something. The three hobbits quickly stood.

"What did they say? What did they say, Merry?" Meridol asked.

Merry's brow furrowed. "They said find the Halflings." He looked around them, spotting the log they had been sitting on. "In there! Quick!" They crawled inside the log, crouching down so as not to be seen through a large hole in the wood. After a few moments, the sound of large feet stampeding by was heard, and then the noises ceased. The three cautiously peeked out. There was Frodo, pressed up against a tree across from them. "Frodo!" Merry hissed. He opened his eyes and looked over to them.

"Hide here, quick!" Pippin called quietly. "Come on!" Frodo stared sadly at them a moment, then shook his head.

"What's he doing?" Meridol whispered to Merry.

Merry was silent a moment, gaze locked intently on Frodo. "He's leaving."

Pippin's expression changed from distress to anger. He jumped out of the log, going towards Frodo. Merry and Meridol followed, trying to pull him back into the hiding place.

"He can't leave!" Pippin was saying. "He can't just leave us! He can't leave Lex!"

Merry and Meridol stopped Pippin, looking up the hill in fear as a swarm of Uruk-hai appeared, running towards them. Merry looked back down at Frodo, who was staring at them, a silent plea in his eyes.

"Go on, Frodo," Merry said. Then he turned back to face the approaching Uruks. "Hey! Hey, you! Over here!"

Meridol and Pippin caught on as they joined in the shouting to the Uruks. They ran off in the opposite direction of where Frodo was, the Uruk-hai in hot pursuit of the three hobbits, allowing the Baggins to slip away unnoticed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lexi was still trying to find her way back to the camp. As she walked, she thought about where Frodo could have disappeared to. There was no where to go, unless he was trying to run away from Mordor. In her opinion, that was a foolish thing to do. She didn't know what sorts of things could be after Frodo now that the Black Riders were gone, but it couldn't be anything good.

Her thoughts were disturbed again by the sound of someone rushing in her direction. She turned to see none other than Frodo himself running down the hill behind her. The sounds of roars and cries in the distance became distinct now. She had not heard them before. And Frodo had obviously not seen her. Yet.

Then, as this thought passed through her mind, he did see her. He was only a few feet from her now and he stopped dead in his tracks. Neither of them said anything at first, simply gazed at each other. Lexi could tell that he was doing something that she and everyone else would protest to, but she did not know what it was.

"Frodo?"

"I'm leaving, Lex."

The sentence hit her like a blow to the stomach. He didn't have to explain further, she knew what he meant. He was going to Mordor. . .by himself. Without the Fellowship. He was signing his own death certificate, she knew.

"You. . .you can't, Frodo. You need the Fellowship. You cannot do this on your own."

"I know. But I have to." And he walked on by her. She spun around, tears springing to her eyes.

"No! I won't let you go, Frodo! You can't!"

"Just let me go, Lexi," he called behind him, not stopping. "I have to do this alone." She ran after him, grabbing his hand. He turned quickly, pulling his hand away. "You have to go find Pippin, Lexi."

"What?"

"Go find Pippin, Lex. He needs you more than I do."

"Frodo, I don't understand. Pippin - "

"Is in love with you!" Frodo interrupted fiercely. Lexi stopped, staring at him incredulously. "I know he is, and you love him. So go and find him. You belong with him. And I have to do this on my own, Lexi. You cannot help me now. No one can. You said in Lothlorien that you understood, so please. . .understand it now. Go and be with Pippin. That is where you belong."

He kissed her quickly then, and was gone.

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A/N: Frodo, you dog! All right, well, that was certainly an unexpected turn of events, eh? Please review this plot-twisting piece of material! Merci!