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Chapter Seven: Nearing the End.
Gollum was tugging at Frodo`s cloak and hissing with fear and impatience.
"We must go, hobbit and not so nasty elf" he said, "We mustn't stand here, make haste"
Not really wanting to Frodo turned his back on the West and followed as his guide led him out into the darkness of the East. They left the ring of trees and crept on the road towards the mountains.
Frodo`s head was bowed, his burden pulling his head down, and Sam was plodding along with a heavy heart. Feavair blinked her eyes several times to keep the tears that threatened to wash over, at bay. First, now it seemed to really dawn on her and her heart grew heavy with sorrow.
First, now she did not want to go. She wanted to turn back and run on the road leading back to safety, leading back to life, and leading back to Legolas. It was so unfair, why had her mother done this to her, why give her such a cruel fate; it was better never to have been born at all.
Frodo raised his head and shuddered as he saw what Gollum had promised, the city of the Ringwraiths. He turned around and waited for Sam, his friend hurried his pace, smiled bravly, and patted Frodo on the shoulder.
"Won't be long now" he said brightly "until this whole affair is over with, and I tell you. This is the last time I do the elves a favor" Frodo smiled sadly at his friends attempt to lift the spirit as he failed miserable.
They continued to walk on, and soon a white bridge lay before them, here the road gleamed faintly, passed over the stream in the midst of the valley and went deviously up towards the city's gate. The water flowing beneath was silent and the smell of something rotten filled the air.
Suddenly something started to pull Frodo, and unable to control his feet he hurried on. His senses heightened and his mind darkened. They all ran after him and Gollum wailed that his master was running the wrong way.
Feavair cough his sleeve and stopped him so suddenly, he almost fell.
"Come back" she whispered in his ear and for a moment it seemed like he wasn`t listening, when suddenly he blinked his eyes and looked around puzzled.
"Hold on Mr. Frodo!" Muttered Sam "Gollum says that is the wrong way and for once I agree with him" Gollum, who had stopped wailing, started to crawl on the ground, like a frightened animal, and was starting to vanish in the gloom.
Frodo breathed deeply as he felt the ring around his neck drag him towards the darkness. Feavair held onto his sleeve, and suddenly he felt something warm prickle up his arm. The darkness started to vanish. He was about to ask her what she was doing, when he saw her eyes, hollow and dark as they had been at the Watchtower. He did dare to ask her, but let the strange feeling calm his mind and heart.
Along a new path, slopping into a gap not far from the bank of the stream they trudged on. The hobbits were unable to see Gollum, except when he turned back to beckon them on. Feavair did not let go of Frodo`s hand as she felt what had been missing in Gollum starting to tear away Frodo`s.
They walked on in what seemed like forever, and at last, Frodo sat down, his feet were unable to carry him.
"I must rest" he insisted and Gollum hissed "No, not here, not here"
Sam turned around and looked at his master concerned, he seemed pale, but compared to Feavair he seemed perfectly healthy. Her skin was white as snow almost deadly blue, her eyes seemed darker and sunken in and her body was visible shaking.
"He is right, we must hurry on. We will rest soon, but not here." Sam said.
Frodo sighed deeply "Alright, I will try" wearily he got to his feet, and without thinking he grabbed Feavair`s hand again, hoping to draw strength from her.
Suddenly there was a crack of thunder and a flare of livid lighting cut through the sky. Forks of blue flame sprang out from the tower and disappeared in the sullen clouds. Mingled with harsh, high, voices of unnamed birds and rending screech, shivering followed beyond the range of hearing. The hobbits wheeled round toward it and cast them self down, holding their hands to their ears.
As the terrible cry ended, there was nothing more then a sickening silence. Feavair slowly raised her head feeling her heart thunder against her chest. Across the narrow valley, now at the level with her eyes stood the evil city, its gate shaped like a gaping mouth was wide open, and through the gate an army came.
The entire host was clad in sable, dark as the night. They could clearly see them; small black figures in rank upon rank marching swiftly and silently, cavalry of horsemen, moving like shadows. And leading the group was a rider all dressed in black, greater then the others. Feavair felt all the blood drain from her face and her hands started to tremble; surely, this was the Lord of the Nine Riders.
Suddenly the rider halted, and the entire army stood still, right before the entrance to the bridge. A spell of deadly silence hung over them, maybe it was the ring that called the Wraithlord or Sauron was feeling her presences. The whisper in her head became more urgent and she closed her eyes and covered her hear muttering for them to be quiet.
Suddenly the Wraith-king turned and spurred his horse and rode quickly across the bridge and his dark host followed. Soon he passed like a shadow into the shadow, down the winding road and behind him, the black ranks crossed the bridge. So great an army had never issued from that vale since the days of Isildur`s might.
"Let us hope" Feavair whispered and took in a deep and ragged breath. "That Faramir and the others will be alright. This is the greatest army Mordor has ever sent forth. We should give them what little hope we can spare."
Then there was a dull clang. The gates of Minas Morgul had closed, and the last rank of spears vanished down the road.
"We must hurry" Sam said feeling nothing more then fear and dread. Gollum crawled over to them his eyes narrowed in anger.
"Foolish, must not think that the danger is gone, it hasn't must make haste"
They started to climb the stairs, four hours it seemed and the wind was growing colder and the darkness thicker. At last, they reached the top and they sank down on the ground.
"Must not rest here," Gollum urged.
"We have climbed the Straight stairs…. now comes the longer Winding stairs…we will rest at the top of those" he said.
"Longer" Sam groaned and Gollum nodded.
"And what…what is after that?" Frodo asked.
"We shall see…O yes we shall se," said Gollum softly.
"I thought you mentioned a tunnel," Frodo said and Gollum nodded.
"O yes, there is a tunnel but hobbits and not so nasty elf can rest before they try that. If they get through that, they will nearly be at the top" Frodo shivered and wiped sweat of his forehead.
"Then let us go, this in no place to sit"
They continued and now they noticed more clearly the foul stench in the air. Gollum seemed to ignore, and he had stopped his sniffing. They had walked the stairs and their feet where now aching with pain. "Let us find a place with shelter…and rest," breathed Sam, and behind some large stones, they sat down.
The hobbits eat and drank what they guessed would be their last meal outside. Feavair did not, food was wasted on her, and she felt that even if she had eaten something, her stomach would throw it up again. She leaned against the stone and closed her eyes hoping to bring back happy memories, but it was no use, all she saw now was darkness.
She stared at the two hobbits. They had not questioned her presences since she came her, and she knew they would not ask unless she told them. She sighed deeply and let a hand comb through her hair, she guessed she owned them to know why she was here. Nevertheless, it didn`t feel like the right time yet, Frodo was struggling against the will of the ring, and she was not sure if her being here, was helping him.
"Let me tell you an old fairytale" she said unexpectedly. The two hobbits stopped eating and looked at her.
"Once upon a time a new world was created. On the world walked the fairest of all creatures, the ones of pure heart and mind. Elves, unicorns, birds, beast and men lived in peace, an immortal life on this world. The new world had green fields and a clear blue sky, great rivers twirled through the lands, and the waterfalls sang softly. The mountain peaks disappeared in the sky and when night fell you could reach out your hand and touch the stars.
Under this world, there was a lesser world, where creatures of good and bad lived in delicate balanced life. The elves, men, beast and birds here raged against each other and destroyed lives and land. However, even this world held some of the same grace as the other world, with magnificent forest, tall mountains, the immortal elves and the same stars shone down on them as it did the other world. When they died, they went to the pure world above them, if their life had been good.
Under that world was the world of pure evil. Nothing but savage beasts and black shadows flickered around here in a world with nothing but dead and fire. The monster here consumed each other, always seeking more power and more strength. Here the ones, who had lived a life craving for more then they could eat, came."
Feavair paused for a moment, and though the only other person she had told this story too. Maybe he to would see the meaning of it someday.
The hobbits sat as on nails, drinking in each word she spoke. Gone were the thoughts of the darkness around them and the evil that waited.
" One of the immortal man who lived in the world over the others started to get greedy and his brothers and sister tossed him down to the evil world, where the darkness consumed him. One day the Dark Lord of the dark world planted a great tree and with help of evil magic, the tree grew, up to the sky and into the world of the mortals.
So sprang the evil up and aided the darkness that already hung on the land. Wars started and the people with good hearts where slaughtered without mercy.
The immortal people on the top world stared down and grieved at what was happening to their brothers and sisters under them.
They sent down seven elves that they called the Spirits Weaver. The Spirits Weaver would help the good and defeat the evil. They were a gift to all mankind, for they held the power to stop death, even when life was going down to the dark world. However, the Dark Lord`s power was too strong, and slaughtered all them all…. except one who escaped to the dark world, a place nobody would think of looking.
But even without the aid of the Spirit Weavers, the evil was vanquished to their own world and the tree was cut down. The last Spirit Weaver was trapped in a dark world where the monsters were tearing at her soul. So, she made a deal with the Dark Lord. If she helped him with a small favor, just a simple thing that seemed insignificant at the time, he would help her back to he own world."
Feavair stopped talking and Sam and Frodo looked at her for a long time wanting her to continue.
"So?" Sam asked when she did not speak anymore, and Feavair shook her head.
"There is no more, the last Spirit Weaver held her deal and helped the dark lord up. However, as she reached the immortal world, her own home, the people punished her. They gave her a child that would have to go down to the dark world and end her life, so that the Dark Lord would be gone forever. As she gave birth to her child, she died"
They were silent for a long time, and finally Frodo started to yawn.
"You should sleep" Feavair said. "I can not and will keep guard" the two hobbits hesitated but finally they closed their eyes and sleep consumed them.
Feavair did not sleep and she stared aimlessly at her own feet now and then sighing deeply. When she had done what she had to do, they would understand her fairytale.
Suddenly Gollum came creping back and suddenly she felt his knuckled hand on her shoulder. Feavair tensed and turned around and meet his gloomy eyes.
"Where have you been?" she asked quietly as not to wake the others. Gollum shrugged.
"I have been nowhere and done nothing," he whispered.
"I would think not, why have you been sneaking off and sneaking back"
"Sneaking, sneaking!" he hissed. "Nasty elves always so police, O `nice` elves. Sméagol brings them up secret ways that nobody else could find. Tired he is, thirsty he is, yes thirsty and he guides them and he searches for paths and the elf say sneak, sneak!"
Feavair bit her lower lip and looked away unable to meet his eyes, thinking about what had happening in the tower with Faramir and the others, what she had felt.
"Sorry" she said " I am sorry, you just startled me, and it made me a bit sharp. I am sorry. But where have you been?" she said.
"Sneaking" he said quickly.
"Then maybe we should get sneaking" she said and Gollum nodded.
"Wake up, foolish hobbits" he hissed and Sam and Frodo quickly blinked their eyes open.
"The last lap" Frodo breathed and Sam nodded.
"Have you gotten any rest or food Sméagol?" Frodo asked and Gollum shook his head.
"No food, nothing for Sméagol" he said. " He is a sneak"
"Don`t give your self names" said Frodo "it is not wise whether they are true or false"
"Sméagol was given the name, by the not so nasty elf, she who knows so much"
Frodo and Sam looked at Feavair and she shrugged.
"Well then Sméagol…. you have done what you have promised, you are free to go where you want" said Frodo "but no to the Enemy. I will reward you someday, or the ones who remembers me" he said thoughtfully.
"No, no not yet" Gollum whined. "O no, they can't find their way them selves can they? No not indeed, there's the tunnel coming, Sméagol must go, and Sméagol must sneak"
Feavair closed her eyes once more and the dread fell over her again like a dark carpet. She was there; she was walking the last lap of the road of her life.
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