A/N: Jebb – Yes, things are starting to move quickly and come together – I'm glad it's easy to see. And don't worry about Deka – her bark is a lot worse than her bite!
They patiently waited for Frodo to return from deciding the path of the company. It was all in his hands now and each wondered what path he would choose but no one speculated out loud. Instead, they each sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts and waiting for their friend to return. There were no more questions for Aragorn about the history of the place or the Numenoreans.
It was quite a bit longer than an hour when they began to suspect that something might have happened to the Ring Bearer. Then someone noticed that Boromir was missing also and his disappearance caused a great deal of concern among the other members of the company. Where had he gone and why?
Legolas cursed himself when he saw Boromir appear from the trees, he had been so pre-occupied with his own thoughts that he failed to notice the man's disappearance. He knew immediately where the man had been once he saw the grim look on his face. With a great effort, Legolas held his anger in check.
So, The Ring has already begun it's foul task, he thought to himself. He should have kept a closer eye on Boromir – he knew the man was tempted by The Ring but did not believe he would try and take it by force.
Aragorn questioned Boromir quite harshly about the missing hobbit and Boromir admitted that he had spoken to the hobbit and that Frodo had put The Ring on and left him but he would say no more. What he left unsaid worried Legolas more that what he had admitted to. Had the man injured the Ring Bearer? If not, where was he? Was Frodo so afraid for his safety that he would not return to the rest of them?
Aragorn tried to calm the company but it was like some madness descended upon them and they scattered wildly in every direction searching for the missing Ring Bearer.
Legolas and Gimli ran into the forest searching for Frodo, fearing that Boromir had done him some harm. Sam was nearly beside himself with grief and tore off into the woods in another direction. Merry and Pippin soon followed, leaving only Aragorn and Boromir by the river.
"Boromir, retrieve Merry and Pippin. I will go after Sam. If you find Frodo, keep him with you and return here," Aragorn ordered as he set off after the dismayed Sam.
Legolas and Gimli desperately searched for Frodo. Legolas secretly feared that Frodo might be lying wounded somewhere and unable to remove The Ring from his finger. If so, they would never find him unless they literally stumbled over him. But at least Frodo still held the accursed thing and Boromir had not succeeded in talking him out of it nor had the man tried to take it by violence.
Boromir had not fallen so low as to slay the hobbit to acquire The Ring and for that, Legolas was thankful. The Ring had not been able to persuade Boromir to commit murder for it - yet. He wondered how long the rest of them would be able to resist its power and he shivered. The longer they stayed with it, the more its evil influence would cloud their vision.
He would not abandon Frodo but he was concerned that if the Fellowship stayed intact to Mordor, The Ring would corrupt them all in one way or another. What was to be done?
The question remained unanswered. A party of armed Orcs charged at them through the forest as if they had been lying in wait for the opportunity to attack. Legolas quickly loosed several arrows, slaying the frontrunners. Gimli charged into the midst of the attackers, wielding his axe with a vengeance against the hateful creatures. The Orcs were no match for the two of them and succumbed quickly to the superior fighters.
Legolas shot his last arrow at Gimli's attacker just as Gimli himself dealt the deathblow.
"That one still counts as mine!" The Dwarf scowled at the elf.
Legolas smiled grimly and was about to retort when a great horn blast split the air.
"Boromir!" They cried in unison and ran toward the sound that came from near the river, Legolas lightly leaping over fallen branches and Gimli barreling through the underbrush like a battering ram.
They found a distraught Aragorn cradling the body of the slain Boromir in a small clearing. Several dead Orcs lay nearby and Boromir's horn laid split in two by his hand. There were no hobbits to be seen.
Legolas was stricken for Boromir's loss and lamented that he and Gimli could not reach him sooner.
"He died a warrior's death," Aragorn said sadly. "The Orcs have taken Merry and Pippin. He was killed trying to rescue them."
Legolas hung his head in despair. This was the second death he had witnessed – more than he had ever seen in his long life and it was unsettling to him. It was so pointless.
They seemed doomed to suffer more and more this day. First the Ring Bearer had disappeared, then Boromir had fallen defending Merry and Pippin and now those two had been borne away by Orcs. Would this madness never end? What course would they pursue now? Chase the Ring Bearer or try and rescue Merry and Pippin?
Aragorn suspected that Gollum had set the Orcs on them once he could no longer follow their path down the river but Legolas wondered if Curunir or the Nazgul had a hand in this also.
They had no time for speculation. Someone knew of their path and their burden so they must act quickly. The first order of business was to take care of Boromir's remains. He had died honorably and deserved better than to be left where he had fallen. The three of them carried his body to the boats, thinking to set him adrift to the falls.
"One of the boats is already missing!" Aragorn said in amazement as they approached the river.
"Could it have been cast adrift by the Orcs?" Gimli wondered. "If so, why didn't they set the rest of them adrift as well?"
Gimli's question and the mystery of the missing boat would have to wait until they had finished the task at hand. Carefully, they laid Boromir's body in one of the remaining boats with his horn and sword. They set his boat adrift and as it slowly made it's way toward the falls, Aragorn spoke of the man's bravery and the three of them remembered him in silence.
His death did not affect Legolas quite as deeply as Gandalf's had. He had not known Boromir for very long and yet he was saddened by the loss of such a fine warrior. Despite trying to obtain The Ring from Frodo, Boromir had died defending his friends and had ultimately redeemed himself.
After Boromir's funeral bark had drifted out of sight, they returned their thoughts to the missing boat. Legolas spied it beached on the opposite shore and wondered how it ended up over there. Meanwhile, Aragorn was searching the other boats for any signs of tampering or missing gear.
"It was Sam and Frodo," Aragorn said sadly when he realized that Sam's cooking gear was missing.
The three of them stared across the lake to the solitary boat on the other side and wished their companions well. It would be much easier for two to cross into Mordor than it would be for nine of them to make the passage. Legolas hoped they would be small and cunning enough to complete their mission.
Their choice had been made for them; the three remaining members of the Fellowship set off to rescue Merry and Pippin from their Orc kidnappers.