A/N: Here we go. My first published fic. Tell me if it's any good. I did
no planning on this one because I was so desperate to publish it.
I couldn't remember the taste of strawberries and cream.
It was as simple as that. Had I really been gone that long? Could I actually forget the sight of the mill in Hobbiton? Could I have forgotten the feel of grass at my feet? But all of that was fading. It wasn't important. The last step of this journey was going to be here. I expect I won't hear the pleasant sound of rain, or feel it trickle over my face. I expect I shan't see or taste the red strawberries that Sam grew. I expect we both won't. But they don't really matter. The only thing we should now have left on our minds is how to destroy him once and for all.
But should we?
If I were only to take the Ring from around my neck, and put it on, my problems would be solved. I would know grass and strawberries and water again.
No. That's not true.
The Ring began to grow heavy around my neck.
If I just put it in my hand, it would be so much easier to carry. If I could just slip it over my finger, nobody would see me. I could run away from this dark place. With it securely on my hand.
People would remember me not only from what I did, but from who I am. People would shudder at my name in fear. They would say that all along their assumptions had been correct. I could just take the chain off my neck, unclasp it, and slowly pull the Ring off it. It would be perfect, except for that...
The Ring is evil, Frodo! It's not merely a magic ring to give you invisibility!
I could control it. I could work with it, not against it.
I looked down at the where the Ring was. I could feel it against my chest. I could almost see it. Perfectly circular, beautiful in every way. The essence of perfection. Wrought with skill. Like Nenya.
I remembered Galadriel showing me Nenya. The ring was as beautiful as herself. It seemed only fitting that the fairest of the Three would be given to her. I could be as powerful as her.
If I only slipped it on. Became invisible. Just this once.
But it would not be "just this once."
I would look at it forever with longing, just to become invisible, "just this once," learning the secrets of Sam, Strider, and even the Lady herself. I could become powerful just learning what they hid.
I am compelled to claim the Ring as my own. To be, the one and only Frodo Baggins, ruler of Middle-earth. That had a nice ring to it.
But I shouldn't. People, like Isildur, often forget what the prices of power are.
The Ring consumes and destroys and mocks. It cannot do good that lasts. It has only one desire: power, and it will do anything to achieve that single goal. To unite the lands of Middle-earth under darkness. To destroy the good in this world. And here I am, considering to not destroy it. What kind of a fool am I?
It is the essence of evil. My goal is to destory it, forever ridding the world of its stench.
Even if I never remember the taste of strawberries.
I couldn't remember the taste of strawberries and cream.
It was as simple as that. Had I really been gone that long? Could I actually forget the sight of the mill in Hobbiton? Could I have forgotten the feel of grass at my feet? But all of that was fading. It wasn't important. The last step of this journey was going to be here. I expect I won't hear the pleasant sound of rain, or feel it trickle over my face. I expect I shan't see or taste the red strawberries that Sam grew. I expect we both won't. But they don't really matter. The only thing we should now have left on our minds is how to destroy him once and for all.
But should we?
If I were only to take the Ring from around my neck, and put it on, my problems would be solved. I would know grass and strawberries and water again.
No. That's not true.
The Ring began to grow heavy around my neck.
If I just put it in my hand, it would be so much easier to carry. If I could just slip it over my finger, nobody would see me. I could run away from this dark place. With it securely on my hand.
People would remember me not only from what I did, but from who I am. People would shudder at my name in fear. They would say that all along their assumptions had been correct. I could just take the chain off my neck, unclasp it, and slowly pull the Ring off it. It would be perfect, except for that...
The Ring is evil, Frodo! It's not merely a magic ring to give you invisibility!
I could control it. I could work with it, not against it.
I looked down at the where the Ring was. I could feel it against my chest. I could almost see it. Perfectly circular, beautiful in every way. The essence of perfection. Wrought with skill. Like Nenya.
I remembered Galadriel showing me Nenya. The ring was as beautiful as herself. It seemed only fitting that the fairest of the Three would be given to her. I could be as powerful as her.
If I only slipped it on. Became invisible. Just this once.
But it would not be "just this once."
I would look at it forever with longing, just to become invisible, "just this once," learning the secrets of Sam, Strider, and even the Lady herself. I could become powerful just learning what they hid.
I am compelled to claim the Ring as my own. To be, the one and only Frodo Baggins, ruler of Middle-earth. That had a nice ring to it.
But I shouldn't. People, like Isildur, often forget what the prices of power are.
The Ring consumes and destroys and mocks. It cannot do good that lasts. It has only one desire: power, and it will do anything to achieve that single goal. To unite the lands of Middle-earth under darkness. To destroy the good in this world. And here I am, considering to not destroy it. What kind of a fool am I?
It is the essence of evil. My goal is to destory it, forever ridding the world of its stench.
Even if I never remember the taste of strawberries.