Just for the hell of it, here's another chapter of the presumably doomed-to-fail modern Lord of the Rings.
x.X.x.X.x.X.x. is scene change.
And let the killing spree begin! (Yes I'm perfectly aware that they died in a boating accident, and yes I'm aware that it was way before the events in Lord of the Rings, but for convenience's sake, and the fact that this makes for a convenient twisty plot, it happens here.)
The Fellowship, Chapter Two: Losing Someone Dear To You.
"Lot 666, a gold ring found in the pocket of our very own high school senior, Frodo Baggins!" He muttered, bewildered by the ring's appearance.
He peered at the inside, trying to figure out if there was any inscription inside, but found nothing. Not even a karat number.
"Joy. Well," he said as something occurred to him, and he grinned. "Finder's keepers. Well… okay, givee keepers."
And he promptly put it inside of an envelope and sealed it, put it in a drawer, and forgot about it.
x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x
Frodo sat at his desk and tapped his pencil in a random beat listlessly. American Government had to be one of the most boring classes in his high school career. Too bad that it was a required course. He'd stopped taking notes back in first quarter, and now just scrapped off of Sam's notes whenever he needed to study for a test.
"So since President Nixon did the Watergate scandal thing after he did all of these other nice things, he's now seen as one of the worst presidents that we've ever had. Any questions?"
Pippin raised his hand.
"Mister Took?"
"Well, you see sir, when Nixon messed with the tapes, wouldn't he have-" Pippin was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Mr. Preece opened it, revealing an emotionless Principal White and a saddened Nurse Reat.
"Mr. Preece, could we borrow Mr. Baggins for the rest of the period?"
"Of course." He turned to a surprised Frodo and made a shooing motion. "Off with you. Don't forget that homework is page two-thirty nine, one through nine in your textbook."
"Yes, sir."
Frodo gathered his books and stacked them untidily before shoving them underneath his arm and following the Principal and the Nurse out of the room.
Pippin cast him one last glance and a whisper- "Run while you can!"
Merry added to it. "Rat us out and you're dead!"
Frodo rolled his eyes and grinned goofily at them before closing the door behind him.
Once he was in the hall, the two women turned to face him. "Mr. Baggins," the Nurse began quietly. "We have some rather distressing news for you, and we feel best that it would be best for you if you were told in Mrs. White's office. Please prepare yourself."
Wondering what could possibly be wrong, he followed them down the hallway to the Administrative office.
Once inside, he received some pretty weird looks and a few glances of sympathy.
'What did I do to get their pity?' What was he getting blamed for now?
Principal White ushered him into her office and into a chair, then closed the door. They weren't alone, though. Sitting in one of the chairs was-
"Gandalf!"
His blue eyes regarded the teen gravely. "Frodo, I have some bad news."
Frodo sat down. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it," he protested. Was it about the packing peanuts in the Drama teacher's car? Merry and Pippin. The shaving cream bomb in the teacher's bathroom? Merry and Pippin. The cherry Kool-Aid in the school's water supply? Three guesses. Most things that they did, Frodo was dragged into even if hehad an alibi.
"Frodo-" Gandalf swallowed, and Frodo could have sworn that there was a sheen of tears to the old man's eyes. "Frodo, I'm afraid that there was a car accident today involving your parents."
What?!
"Oh my god. Are- are Mom and Dad alright?" he asked, fearing the answer and half-knowing what it would be.
"I'm sorry, Frodo. Your father was killed instantly and your mother died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."
Dead... they were dead? No, they couldn't be. He'd just seen them this morning, drinking their coffee together and seeing him off to school. He'd just... he'd just seen them...
The only other thing he ever remembered doing that day was bolting to the principal's trashcan and throwing up.
x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x
"My parents were two of the best people I've ever known," Frodo began. "I was an only child- and received enough love for twenty. My parents were kind, loving, caring people, with the biggest hearts you could ever see. They tried to instill a sense of honor and responsibility in me- sometimes that didn't work out so well," he let out a weak chuckle. "But in retrospect, it was one of the bravest things they could have done. I was never an easy child, but my parents never gave up. My mother, Primula, was a cheerful woman, with always a kind word to say for anyone, be they child or convict, and she loved Drogo very much. Father…" Frodo took a deep breath. "Father never made very much, and he had a fascination with boats, but what was important to him- what was always important- was that his family got enough to eat and he was always helping people in the community. Sometimes they didn't accept it very easily," he said with a sideways glance at his mother's cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, "But he always managed to help them even if it meant foregoing something himself."
Frodo could just hear Pippin whispering to Merry. "Fore-whatsit? He knows not to use big words around us, Merry!"
He smiled briefly at the thought and continued. "My parents loved each other very much, and I know that wherever they are now, they're together, forever. They weren't always able to be with each other in life; Dad was always working, and Mom was busy being a housewife and volunteering at the homeless shelter. Both of them loved poetry by John Donne; and now I'm going to share one of their favorite poems with you- please take this time to remember them in life, as we cannot in death.
"No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee."
Right on time, the bells in the tower above tolled twice, signaling the passing of two loving members of the community, and Frodo couldn't take it anymore. He nodded to the crowded chapel and made his way from the podium to sit between Gandalf and Pippin. The older man put a comforting arm around his shoulders and Frodo leaned against him, grateful for his strength as an older woman- Aunt Dora, he thought, began to walk up to give her own eulogy before he closed his eyes and waited for the service to end.
Hiro: So there ya go. Another chapter in The Fellowship.
