Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Chapter 19
The next morning, as I set the last plate on the table and sat myself down to eat breakfast, Frodo entered the kitchen and sat down next to me in his usual spot. His manner was cold. I knew the events of the day before had unnerved him.
Sam continued his light chatter through the meal, unaware of the conversation that had passed between Frodo and myself. He did, however, notice Frodo's sullen mood, as did Rosie.
Elanor's cry became apparent in the other side of the house just as we were all finishing out meal. Rosie wiped her mouth quickly with her napkin and set it upon the table and stood up, retreating to tend to Elanor's wishes.
Frodo stood up shortly after Rosie left and departed, leaving Sam and me in the kitchen. I glance at Frodo's plate. He had touched very little of his meal, less than usual. Slowly, I stood up and started to clear the table after cleaning my plate.
"It's quite quiet around here this morning," Sam said, trying to stir the silence.
"Aye, it is." I picked up Frodo's plate, disheartened by his meager appetite. "I wish Frodo would eat more," I stated, clearing off his plate.
"I wish for it too, but Mr. Frodo's never been one to have a natural hobbit appetite." Sam stood up and brought me his plate. "At least not for the past two years," he said softly. He walked off slowly. There was a change in his demeanor so that now he seemed to have a slightly sad disposition.
I cleaned the kitchen and left to tend to cleaning the rest of Bag End.
~*~
As I stepped into Frodo's study to bring him his lunch, I saw him pacing around the room. He suddenly stopped and faced me, standing still.
"Here's you're lunch, Frodo," I said, setting the plate down on the small table near the door. Frodo crossed the room quickly. I stepped back to leave.
"Please, I wish to talk with you," he said. His voice contained a hint of urgency that I had never heard before. I looked up at him and saw sincerity in his eyes.
"I would like to talk with you, but I must attend to my duties."
"I already asked Rosie for your leave for the rest of the day. She said she could take care of everything by herself today." He looked down, reached for my hand, taking it in his hand and then turned his gaze back to me. "I'd like to go walk through the Shire like we did before."
"I'd like that too," I said, looking into his deep blue eyes.
Frodo nodded softly and smiled. He started to walk out of the room, taking me with him.
Soon we were walking through the fields on the outskirts of Hobbiton. Nothing had passed between us and I was very curious as to the reasons behind his actions today. I was following his lead, not sure what to make of the whole situation, so I let him wander where he wanted.
We neared the edge of the forest and Frodo stopped in his path and gazed at the trees. He stepped closer to the tree to his left and placed his right hand upon the trunk. I watched as he walked around it and when he came full circle around the base, he looked at me, a smile crawling onto his face.
"I would sit in this tree and read for hours when I first came here," he said, stepping closer to me and turning his gaze to the tree. He continued to walk past me, along the edge of the forest. I hurried to catch up with him, returning to his side.
After a while, I decided to speak up. "Frodo," I said, gazing over at him. He turned his eyes to see me and smiled.
"Yes?"
"What did you want to talk with me about?"
Frodo sighed and stopped walking. He dropped his head, pausing for several moments. "Please sit down," he said, motioning to the ground. I arranged my skirt to better accommodate sitting on the ground as he sat down next to me, crossing his legs underneath himself. When we had settled down, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"What you said yesterday affected me in more ways than you know." Frodo gazed at me, a newer honesty dwelling within him. He dropped his head again. "You were right, I cannot hold everything in or it will corrupt me."
It took me a bit to realize what he was implying. I placed my hand over his folded hands. "My offer still stands," I said, trying to comfort him, "I will listen to anything you have to say."
"I know," he said, unfolding his hands and placing one on top of my hand. "I'm just uncertain of where to begin." He began to stroke my hand with his thumb.
"I always find the easiest place is to start at the beginning," I replied, taking my other hand to lift his chin so his eyes would meet mine.
"Bilbo, would say something to that effect if he were here." Frodo lowered his head, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. I could already see that it was going to take him a lot of strength to tell me his tale. "There is much to tell and not enough time to tell it all in one day."
"Start slowly and end when you think you can no longer tell me anything today."
A silence fell between us. I knew he was gathering up his strength to tell me what had happened.
"It all started about three years ago when Gandalf informed me that the ring Bilbo had left me was a ring of power, not only a ring of power, but an all powerful ring that the Dark Lord had forged to control Middle- Earth. I took on the task of taking this ring to Mordor, to rid this world of Sauron's evil forever. At the time, I only thought I was to take it to Rivendell, but my fate was much more than that."
Frodo continued his tale, telling me how the ring came to him and then the beginning of his journey, how he set out from the Shire with Sam meet up with Merry and Pippin in Buckland and how they ventured to Bree. He told me of his first encounter with Strider and his first interaction with the ring as it had slipped on his hand. I could see the exhaustion that came over him to bring back these memories. He had to pause several times, each for different lengths of time.
He paused after talking about how Bilbo had acquired the ring and given it to him. I saw his pain of having to let Bilbo go.
He continued to tell me of the journey to Rivendell and the attack of the wraiths on Weathertop. He paused after he told me of how he woke up in Rivendell with the elves. I knew it only got worse after that point from the manner he fidgeted with his hands and how he tried to move on but found himself at a loss for words.
"I'll never be healed from that day at Weathertop," Frodo said softly. He pulled aside his shirt and showed me his left shoulder, which contained a small white scar. "It has pained me for the past two years on the anniversary of day it was inflicted."
"October sixth?" I asked, remembering my second day of work and his uneasy state on that day.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I remember that you were ill that day this year because it was my second day of work at Bag End and I was still wary of you, and you said that that particular part of the tale set place in the autumn."
A look of understanding came over Frodo's face as he connected the details. He looked down again, in attempts to recall the next part of his journey.
"You do not have to continue for now," I said, bringing his chin up so he would face me. "I can see that this drains you and it is late in the day."
Frodo nodded slowly, the edges of his mouth turning up. He stood up and extended his hand towards me and I took it. He pulled me up and I straightened out my dress. As we headed home, I gazed over the horizon to watch the sun sink behind the hills.
I noticed that Frodo's pace slowed and then I gazed over at him to see that he was staring at the same sight that I had been.
"It's beautiful," I said, moving slowly with him.
"Yes it is," he replied, his voice barely inaudible. We continued our long journey home, arriving at Bag End well after the sun had set. He took me aside and we sat in the gardens inside the front gate for a while, just staring up at the stars that blanketed the sky.
"Mira, I'd like to thank you for today," Frodo said.
"You're welcome, but it was nothing really." I took his hand closest to me and began to stroke it gently.
"I'd like to tell you more tomorrow, but I am not certain if I can bring such fatigue to my mind."
"Take your time in telling your story. I will listen when you need me to."
He turned to me, his eyes showing some of his relief. "Thank you," he mouthed. I nodded and smiled in response.
The front door to Bag End opened and Sam stepped out from the hole. "I thought I heard some voices out here," he said, nearing us. "How about you two come in for a nice hot supper?"
Frodo stood up and walked over to the door. I stood and followed him into the kitchen, but Sam held me back for a moment.
"What did Mr. Frodo need you for? You've been out for an awfully long time," he uttered so his words would only be audible to him and myself. Though seemingly nosey, I could tell Sam was only worried for his friend's well-being.
"We talked." After I had stated that fact, a look of understanding crossed Sam's face. Perhaps Frodo had talked to Sam or Sam inherently knew what Frodo was telling me, after all, he was part of the adventures. "If you'll excuse me, Rosie most likely needs my help in the kitchen now."
I entered the kitchen and took my place over the fire, tending to the boiling stew. I turned to Frodo and watched him as he ate, hoping that our conversation had helped him somehow. I felt so much sorrow from him and I knew that the part of his journey he had told me today was not even a sliver in the whole tale.
Frodo retreated to an early slumber that night since the day had taken so much strength out of him.
Sam confronted me about the whole situation while I was straightening the kitchen before turning in myself.
"Mira," he said, shyly entering the kitchen.
"Yes, Sam?" I replied, turning towards him.
"What exactly did you and Mr. Frodo discuss today?" Again, I knew he was only concerned for Frodo.
"He told me memories of your journey and it took a lot of energy for him to recall everything."
"What exactly has he told you?" Sam was hinting at their adventure, not sure if that was what Frodo had told me.
"He's told me everything to when you arrived in Rivendell."
Sam turned his gaze away from mine and nodded in understanding. He looked back at me, a fresh concern in his face. "Don't push him. He's been through a lot."
"I know, Sam. And I won't push him. Frodo chose to tell me on his own and I won't prevent him from carrying out his desires."
Sam nodded. "Mr. Frodo's needed someone like you to talk to," he said before leaving.
I took his words in, hoping that anything I did would be enough to help Frodo.
~*~
Traveller: wow, you have no idea how much your response made my day. I'm sorry I haven't gotten farther, but it takes a while to write these chapters and plus school gets in the way all too much.I'm going to shoot for a chapter per week give or take a little depending on my workload. Thank you much for your reply, it was very inspiring and gave me confidence in my writing.
Firefly: I'm glad you think my writing has improved. It took me a while to get into this and get the dialogue to work, especially using older English grammar and phrasing.
As for the romance aspect, I'm giving in and it will turn into some sort of romance, although how much I'm not sure. When I first started, I was determined not to have a romance in it since there are so many romance Mary- Sue-ish fics out there and I was afraid of this turning into one of those and the last couple of chapters have been leading there so yeah. Rejoice all of you who have been rooting for a romance.
Chapter 19
The next morning, as I set the last plate on the table and sat myself down to eat breakfast, Frodo entered the kitchen and sat down next to me in his usual spot. His manner was cold. I knew the events of the day before had unnerved him.
Sam continued his light chatter through the meal, unaware of the conversation that had passed between Frodo and myself. He did, however, notice Frodo's sullen mood, as did Rosie.
Elanor's cry became apparent in the other side of the house just as we were all finishing out meal. Rosie wiped her mouth quickly with her napkin and set it upon the table and stood up, retreating to tend to Elanor's wishes.
Frodo stood up shortly after Rosie left and departed, leaving Sam and me in the kitchen. I glance at Frodo's plate. He had touched very little of his meal, less than usual. Slowly, I stood up and started to clear the table after cleaning my plate.
"It's quite quiet around here this morning," Sam said, trying to stir the silence.
"Aye, it is." I picked up Frodo's plate, disheartened by his meager appetite. "I wish Frodo would eat more," I stated, clearing off his plate.
"I wish for it too, but Mr. Frodo's never been one to have a natural hobbit appetite." Sam stood up and brought me his plate. "At least not for the past two years," he said softly. He walked off slowly. There was a change in his demeanor so that now he seemed to have a slightly sad disposition.
I cleaned the kitchen and left to tend to cleaning the rest of Bag End.
~*~
As I stepped into Frodo's study to bring him his lunch, I saw him pacing around the room. He suddenly stopped and faced me, standing still.
"Here's you're lunch, Frodo," I said, setting the plate down on the small table near the door. Frodo crossed the room quickly. I stepped back to leave.
"Please, I wish to talk with you," he said. His voice contained a hint of urgency that I had never heard before. I looked up at him and saw sincerity in his eyes.
"I would like to talk with you, but I must attend to my duties."
"I already asked Rosie for your leave for the rest of the day. She said she could take care of everything by herself today." He looked down, reached for my hand, taking it in his hand and then turned his gaze back to me. "I'd like to go walk through the Shire like we did before."
"I'd like that too," I said, looking into his deep blue eyes.
Frodo nodded softly and smiled. He started to walk out of the room, taking me with him.
Soon we were walking through the fields on the outskirts of Hobbiton. Nothing had passed between us and I was very curious as to the reasons behind his actions today. I was following his lead, not sure what to make of the whole situation, so I let him wander where he wanted.
We neared the edge of the forest and Frodo stopped in his path and gazed at the trees. He stepped closer to the tree to his left and placed his right hand upon the trunk. I watched as he walked around it and when he came full circle around the base, he looked at me, a smile crawling onto his face.
"I would sit in this tree and read for hours when I first came here," he said, stepping closer to me and turning his gaze to the tree. He continued to walk past me, along the edge of the forest. I hurried to catch up with him, returning to his side.
After a while, I decided to speak up. "Frodo," I said, gazing over at him. He turned his eyes to see me and smiled.
"Yes?"
"What did you want to talk with me about?"
Frodo sighed and stopped walking. He dropped his head, pausing for several moments. "Please sit down," he said, motioning to the ground. I arranged my skirt to better accommodate sitting on the ground as he sat down next to me, crossing his legs underneath himself. When we had settled down, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"What you said yesterday affected me in more ways than you know." Frodo gazed at me, a newer honesty dwelling within him. He dropped his head again. "You were right, I cannot hold everything in or it will corrupt me."
It took me a bit to realize what he was implying. I placed my hand over his folded hands. "My offer still stands," I said, trying to comfort him, "I will listen to anything you have to say."
"I know," he said, unfolding his hands and placing one on top of my hand. "I'm just uncertain of where to begin." He began to stroke my hand with his thumb.
"I always find the easiest place is to start at the beginning," I replied, taking my other hand to lift his chin so his eyes would meet mine.
"Bilbo, would say something to that effect if he were here." Frodo lowered his head, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. I could already see that it was going to take him a lot of strength to tell me his tale. "There is much to tell and not enough time to tell it all in one day."
"Start slowly and end when you think you can no longer tell me anything today."
A silence fell between us. I knew he was gathering up his strength to tell me what had happened.
"It all started about three years ago when Gandalf informed me that the ring Bilbo had left me was a ring of power, not only a ring of power, but an all powerful ring that the Dark Lord had forged to control Middle- Earth. I took on the task of taking this ring to Mordor, to rid this world of Sauron's evil forever. At the time, I only thought I was to take it to Rivendell, but my fate was much more than that."
Frodo continued his tale, telling me how the ring came to him and then the beginning of his journey, how he set out from the Shire with Sam meet up with Merry and Pippin in Buckland and how they ventured to Bree. He told me of his first encounter with Strider and his first interaction with the ring as it had slipped on his hand. I could see the exhaustion that came over him to bring back these memories. He had to pause several times, each for different lengths of time.
He paused after talking about how Bilbo had acquired the ring and given it to him. I saw his pain of having to let Bilbo go.
He continued to tell me of the journey to Rivendell and the attack of the wraiths on Weathertop. He paused after he told me of how he woke up in Rivendell with the elves. I knew it only got worse after that point from the manner he fidgeted with his hands and how he tried to move on but found himself at a loss for words.
"I'll never be healed from that day at Weathertop," Frodo said softly. He pulled aside his shirt and showed me his left shoulder, which contained a small white scar. "It has pained me for the past two years on the anniversary of day it was inflicted."
"October sixth?" I asked, remembering my second day of work and his uneasy state on that day.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I remember that you were ill that day this year because it was my second day of work at Bag End and I was still wary of you, and you said that that particular part of the tale set place in the autumn."
A look of understanding came over Frodo's face as he connected the details. He looked down again, in attempts to recall the next part of his journey.
"You do not have to continue for now," I said, bringing his chin up so he would face me. "I can see that this drains you and it is late in the day."
Frodo nodded slowly, the edges of his mouth turning up. He stood up and extended his hand towards me and I took it. He pulled me up and I straightened out my dress. As we headed home, I gazed over the horizon to watch the sun sink behind the hills.
I noticed that Frodo's pace slowed and then I gazed over at him to see that he was staring at the same sight that I had been.
"It's beautiful," I said, moving slowly with him.
"Yes it is," he replied, his voice barely inaudible. We continued our long journey home, arriving at Bag End well after the sun had set. He took me aside and we sat in the gardens inside the front gate for a while, just staring up at the stars that blanketed the sky.
"Mira, I'd like to thank you for today," Frodo said.
"You're welcome, but it was nothing really." I took his hand closest to me and began to stroke it gently.
"I'd like to tell you more tomorrow, but I am not certain if I can bring such fatigue to my mind."
"Take your time in telling your story. I will listen when you need me to."
He turned to me, his eyes showing some of his relief. "Thank you," he mouthed. I nodded and smiled in response.
The front door to Bag End opened and Sam stepped out from the hole. "I thought I heard some voices out here," he said, nearing us. "How about you two come in for a nice hot supper?"
Frodo stood up and walked over to the door. I stood and followed him into the kitchen, but Sam held me back for a moment.
"What did Mr. Frodo need you for? You've been out for an awfully long time," he uttered so his words would only be audible to him and myself. Though seemingly nosey, I could tell Sam was only worried for his friend's well-being.
"We talked." After I had stated that fact, a look of understanding crossed Sam's face. Perhaps Frodo had talked to Sam or Sam inherently knew what Frodo was telling me, after all, he was part of the adventures. "If you'll excuse me, Rosie most likely needs my help in the kitchen now."
I entered the kitchen and took my place over the fire, tending to the boiling stew. I turned to Frodo and watched him as he ate, hoping that our conversation had helped him somehow. I felt so much sorrow from him and I knew that the part of his journey he had told me today was not even a sliver in the whole tale.
Frodo retreated to an early slumber that night since the day had taken so much strength out of him.
Sam confronted me about the whole situation while I was straightening the kitchen before turning in myself.
"Mira," he said, shyly entering the kitchen.
"Yes, Sam?" I replied, turning towards him.
"What exactly did you and Mr. Frodo discuss today?" Again, I knew he was only concerned for Frodo.
"He told me memories of your journey and it took a lot of energy for him to recall everything."
"What exactly has he told you?" Sam was hinting at their adventure, not sure if that was what Frodo had told me.
"He's told me everything to when you arrived in Rivendell."
Sam turned his gaze away from mine and nodded in understanding. He looked back at me, a fresh concern in his face. "Don't push him. He's been through a lot."
"I know, Sam. And I won't push him. Frodo chose to tell me on his own and I won't prevent him from carrying out his desires."
Sam nodded. "Mr. Frodo's needed someone like you to talk to," he said before leaving.
I took his words in, hoping that anything I did would be enough to help Frodo.
~*~
Traveller: wow, you have no idea how much your response made my day. I'm sorry I haven't gotten farther, but it takes a while to write these chapters and plus school gets in the way all too much.I'm going to shoot for a chapter per week give or take a little depending on my workload. Thank you much for your reply, it was very inspiring and gave me confidence in my writing.
Firefly: I'm glad you think my writing has improved. It took me a while to get into this and get the dialogue to work, especially using older English grammar and phrasing.
As for the romance aspect, I'm giving in and it will turn into some sort of romance, although how much I'm not sure. When I first started, I was determined not to have a romance in it since there are so many romance Mary- Sue-ish fics out there and I was afraid of this turning into one of those and the last couple of chapters have been leading there so yeah. Rejoice all of you who have been rooting for a romance.
