FOOL OF A TOOK

Chapter Three: Boromir's Secret

It had been easy enough to slip away from the Fellowship unseen, but getting out of Lorien would be another matter altogether.

Pippin had heard Strider and Legolas tell the others how well-protected the borders were, but that was no comfort to him now. What if the Elf-guards tried to stop him? He knew he was no fighter.

He very nearly went back to the clearing. Then, he felt the Ring tug at his pocket. He looked down in surprise.

Come on, it seemed to be saying to him. Let's get out of here. You can do this.

Pippin set his jaw and moved quietly through the trees. Hobbits can be very silent when they want to be. And Pippin definitely wanted to be.

He managed to make it to the Elves' guardhouse by the river without being heard or seen. He heard someone shouting inside, and decided to get a closer look. He paused just outside the window to listen to what the Elves inside were saying. As luck would have it, Boromir was inside. Now the Elves would have to speak in common tongue, and Pippin could understand what they were saying.

Boromir was rather red in the face, and Pippin realized that he must have been the one who was shouting. The Elves looked very calm and placid, as though they had only been discussing the weather.

"You don't trust Men! So why should I trust you Elves!" Boromir was arguing.

A very bored-looking Elf spoke up from his chair in the corner. "For the last time…er…Human," he began haughtily. "We Elves have much better eyes than you Men. We can shoot an orc through the bridge of its nasty little nose in the dark."

Another Elf slapped him on the shoulder. "That's telling him, Haldir!" Haldir glared at him, and he composed himself once more.

Boromir scoffed, "Oh, sure. And I suppose you know what has been following us since Moria? What this…shadow with glowing eyes can be?"

Haldir sat up straighter. "That is no shadow. That is the creature Gollum. He has been following you because he wants that…evil object you carry with you."

Boromir began to pace the floor. "Well, he can't have it! I cannot even get that Frodo Baggins to let me look at it anymore. He fears that I will try to take it." He paused and looked at Haldir and the other Elves again. "And why not? If I were to take the Ring from him, at least it would be out from under your haughty little noses. And then your woods would be free from this immense evil you describe it to be."

Haldir stood. "I would greatly desire for the horrid object to be gone from this wonderful place. I fear that the innocence of Milady's wood has been compromised by this…thing."

"Friend Haldir," Boromir began, looking very intently at him. "Will you help me to get this thing from the halfling? With your help, I can rid this sacred place of the evil once and for all!"

Haldir chuckled and walked toward him. "Do not name me as friend…Man."

Boromir frowned and started to speak. "I will not be –"

"Hold your tongue," Haldir spoke with such authority that the great Man's tongue was stilled in his mouth. "I am not so foolish as to help you in your desire for the Ring. Do you not know that the Golden Lady is wisest and fairest of all beings in this realm? She knows the purpose of the quest you are on, and what is necessary to fulfill it. Galadriel sees all, and knows all."

Pippin gulped outside the window. "I forgot about that," he thought. "Maybe just this once, she's busy with other things."

"Did you think," Haldir continued, "that I would be so idiotic as to let the one object that absolutely must be destroyed fall into the hands of a Man? Men are greedy, and think of none but themselves." He looked keenly at Boromir. "Am I not correct?"

Boromir flushed angrily. "I merely wish to use the Ring to help my own people. You would not do the same for your own?"

Haldir strode to the window. Pippin ducked down again. "I would do the same if I thought it would save my people. But I know that it will not. This thing must be destroyed. Boromir of Gondor, you must not stand in the way of this quest."

Boromir marched to the door. "You haughty Elves. You will die like all the rest of Middle Earth, if you are not willing to stand up and fight for what is yours."

Haldir turned from the window and faced Boromir once more. "The Ring is not yours."

Boromir said nothing more, but went out into the night.

Pippin turned and sat, thinking about what he'd just heard. "So Boromir wants to take the Ring from Frodo. To use for his own gains, I'd say." He smiled to himself. "Maybe that's what the Lady meant as far as saving Frodo's life. Boromir might just want that Ring bad enough to kill Frodo to take it."

Pippin patted his pocket. "It's a good thing I got to it first!"