Wow. This took me a lot longer than intended. Free time has been nil, and recently I was forced to write something- dun dun DUN- with ORIGINAL CHARACTERS! (Shudder gasp choke)
I really am sorry! Don't hurt me! I don't intend to abandon this, though you might. Sorry.
Writer's Block sucks. That's all I have to say.
To my lovely reviewers: Thank you all! I love you! You all get... um... um... something...
Ithilin Palandiriel: Christmas in July (and August), as ordered. ;) Thanks for your support!
Dolphingurl91- yay! Thanks for telling me so!
Longundertree- Thank you so much! I try to be comprehensible when I write- I hate it when people use bad writing technique, like AOL talk, in their stories. Thanks for approving my use of the English language- I do try. Thanks again- that's a huge compliment for me!
Chaar chee- I'm not sure whether or not I'm ever going to say... Some things are best left to the reader's imagination... evil grin Thanks for your interest, anyway.
Nienna-lavetil- heh heh... Salt Song. Thank my friend Krystee for that particular... erm... literary accomplishment. ;) Thanks for reading!
Window Girl- "I'm really glad that you don't own LOTR." Um, thanks? Hehehe... I'm pretty sure a lot of people are... But not me. sulk ;) Thanks for reading!
Enelya Took- Erm... Define "soon." Heh. Heh heh heh...
X-leiQ- Just "pretty good?!" ... Yeah, probably. ;) Thanks for reading! You make me feel warm and fuzzy!
Glorfindelrox- gee, I wonder who your favorite characters might be. ;) lol... "we wish you a Merry Brandybuck..." LOL. That's hysterical!
Tinánia Legolinde- Glad you like it! As for the part... eh... I might be able to squeeze in a cameo, but it's kinda difficult because if you don't do it right, you get nailed for having an "interactive story." I'll try to squeeze something in for ya, if I don't forget. I'll try not to!
lil Aussieroo – Thank you! I'm honored that I'm being recommended- tell your friend that I'm honored too... :)
Anyway, here you go. Sorry if I missed anyone!
BTW- I'm sorry, but I've yet to figure out how to sucessfully tab. Evil page of doom.
"Sam? Sam! I'm getting slaughtered out here. Can we call truce? Can I come in?" Frodo was currently crouching behind Sam's large snow fort, dodging snowballs from Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry. Frodo didn't hear any response from Sam, but as all the others except for Pippin and Aragorn were currently trying to end his last life, desperate actions needed to be taken. Without waiting for clear confirmation, he scuttled up the thick walls and dropped in.
Sam hastily moved out of the way in time to avoid being squished. "Good of you to drop in, Mr. Frodo," He commented. He pulled Frodo to his feet. "What's goin' on out there?"
"Last I saw, everyone was after me," Frodo said ruefully. He released Sam's assisting hand and sank back down to the ground again, leaning against the snow walls. "I haven't seen hide or hair of Pippin the entire time, though, and that quite frankly worries me."
"It'd worry me too," Sam consoled.
Frodo glanced up at him. "Have you even been wounded since Gimli got you in the beginning?"
"Only once," Sam said easily. "I got hit on the arm."
Frodo sighed in irritation. "I'm on my last life, with one injury," he said mournfully.
Any further conversation was cut off as Aragorn's cry came. "VOLLEY!!!!"
Frodo and Sam stared at each other, wide-eyed, and dove flat to the ground, huddling near the wall, and just in time. About twenty snowballs plopped down in their midst.
"Gaa," Sam muttered in irritation. "That's another wound."
"Amazingly," Frodo sat up and smiled, "I wasn't touched." Sam glared. "Oh, come on, I'm on my last life."
Sam sighed and struggled to his feet. "Well, if you're planning to stay, Mr. Frodo, get comfy."
Frodo tried to raise an eyebrow, but both came up instead. "You mean you've just been sitting here the entire time?"
Sam shrugged. "Ever since I finished my fort, anyway."
"Sam, you built this last night."
Sam shrugged again.
Meanwhile, most of the others conferred outside of the fort.
"They've called truce," Legolas complained.
"Yes, thank you Legolas, they have," Aragorn said dryly. "What do we want to do about it?"
"I say we break down those walls and wipe them both out," Gimli grumbled. "Sam hides in there every year, and Frodo deserves what he's got coming to him."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "He does?"
Gimli muttered into his beard. "Well, Pippin does, anyway, but I haven't found him yet."
"Yes," Legolas frowned. "Where IS he? He's normally quite the reckless player."
Aragorn shrugged, fighting a small grin. "Pippin doesn't matter right now. We need to decide what to do about Frodo and Sam."
"Sam always takes Frodo's side," Merry complained. "If I tried to get shelter in there he'd kill me in a minute... not unlike someone else I know." He glared darkly at Aragorn.
"Let's wipe them both out," Gandalf said gruffly. "If we're careful we can show them they're just sitting ducks."
"What are you planning?" Legolas asked suspiciously.
Gandalf grinned. "Legolas- fetch all our buckets."
Frodo shifted restlessly. Not only was he stiff from sitting in Sam's snow fort doing nothing, but the lack of sound from outside the thick icy walls was only a little suspicious.
"Are you sure we're safe, Sam?" he asked nervously.
"Of course we are, Mr. Frodo," Sam answered. "I iced the walls last night."
"I got over." Frodo pointed out, suddenly more anxious for all of Sam's soothing.
"They're trying to be silent," Sam explained. "They can't be silent and climb those icy walls. You made a lot of ruckus when you scrambled over. If they try, we'll hear them."
Frodo still wasn't satisfied. "And if we DO hear them? What sort of defense do you have in mind?"
Sam thought a moment. "I guess you don't have armor, do you, Mr. Frodo?"
Frodo flung his arm over his eyes and groaned.
"Ouch! Be more careful, Sam! Now higher... higher! Whoa! Stop that!"
"If I might point out, Mr. Frodo," Sam said pointedly, with more than a little strain to his voice, "this was YOUR idea, not mine, and I am the one with you on my back."
"Yes, well," Frodo said, flailing his arms to keep his balance, "it was you who failed to have proper defenses for your little keep."
"I'm fine without defenses! It's only you that has a problem with it! You should have thought to wear armor."
"Shhh!" Frodo hissed. "I can see over the top now."
Big, blue eyes peered out over the tall white walls of Sam's sanctuary. "I don't see anyone," Frodo whispered. A very bad feeling crept over him. "This is wrong."
"You're right about that," Sam mumbled to himself, wincing and trying to keep both his and Frodo's balance.
Frodo, ignoring him, looked right and left distrustfully. With more daring than he thought he possessed, (sure, he'd faced many foes bravely on his trek to Mount Doom so long ago, but none of those enemies had carried hard spheres of packed ice) Frodo brought his head completely clear of the protection of the walls.
No attack came. Frodo sucked in his breath. "Sam, I thank you for your protection, but I've got to get out of here. I, for one thing, don't have any armor for any attacks, and besides, I'm not as patient as you."
Summoning the most of his bravery, Frodo pushed off Sam's back ("Ow!") and swung his legs over the peak of Sam's fort. As quietly as possible, he slid down the iced rampart and fled across the yard.
Pippin huddled near the chimney, a bit too cautious to stand full up. Each time he did, it made him easier to spot. True, the only people who could really spot him right now were in Sam's fort; (the others had gone into the house to get supplies to storm Sam's "castle,") but it was better to play safe then not play at all, which was what would happen if he fell of the roof. If the fall didn't kill him literally, the others would be on him quick enough and kill him out of the game.
Besides, he reasoned to himself, if he stood now, he might make enough noise for those in the house now to alert them of his location. It was pure luck that neither Gandalf nor Aragorn had told the others; they probably planned to let Pippin wipe out the others for them. That was fine by Pip, so long as he got to do some damage on the knowledgeable ones.
Pip allowed a small smug smile to creep across his face. He couldn't believe nobody had thought of this before. And though the whole stealth thing wasn't his usual style, it certainly had some perks, he'd decided. He could tell that the others were definitely off-set by his absence, and so far he was in peak condition, while all the others were down at least one life, most two. He would admit, though... It did have its boring moments. He yawned and leaned his head back against the bricks. At least he was merely bored, not tired. The others, except perhaps Sam, were feeling some pulls of fatigue. Pippin sighed in satisfaction. Too bad he couldn't do something like this next year, too. This was one of those things that only worked once. Good thing he'd thought of it first.
A perhaps imagined noise yanked Pippin's attention. Carefully he crept nearer to the roof's lip and peeked over. To his surprise, he saw Frodo slipping over the edge of the stronghold and running across the yard. That was something he hadn't expected from the ex-ringbearer. He must have caught wind of the plotter's plans and made a break for it while the coast was relatively clear. Smart man. Well, Hobbit.
Pippin chewed his lip thoughtfully. If he attacked Frodo now, Frodo would know who had attacked him and where he'd been attacked from. Pippin considered the results of creaming his cousin. Pro: Frodo would be out of the game. Con: There would be absolutely nothing to keep his cousin from telling the world of his position. Pippin gnawed his lip more forcefully. He wasn't sure if he was ready to give away his position already, but... He was right there! Frodo was currently browsing about for a good hiding spot- "good" being one that didn't have one of Gimli's "secret stashes" of snowballs nearby. Gimli always returned for his secret stashes, and though they weren't really secret, he acted like they were. To use one of his snowballs would mean death.
Pippin, nearly unconsciously, gathered a vast amount of snow and held it as though he were unsure what to do with it. Which he was. It was so tempting... So very tempting... But the results could be disastrous. Pippin jumped as he heard Frodo's unexpected indignant cry:
"Who killed me? Where did that come from? Who killed me? PIPPIN!"
Pippin froze in shock as he realized he no longer held his ball of snow. He gazed down helplessly on his cousin, who was furiously shaking snow out of his hair and glaring coldly. It had simply been too much of an opportunity to pass up for Pippin, apparently no matter what his conscious self said, and now Frodo was dead and Pippin's cover was blown.
More soon- I hope!
