The Way Out

Amelia hugged Frodo, taking in whiffs of his scent, which smelled like mown grass and pipeweed. Oh, she would remember that scent, his scent! She kissed his cheek, telling him, "I'm sorry I broke down. You've done so much and I so little. I don't know what I could do."

"Amelia, you give me enough. You've given me my life back, even though I'm a vampire," Frodo said, caressing her cheek. "You're my love, my beautiful wife."

"And you're my everything!" Amelia said, her heart racing with love and affection towards him.

"Amelia," Frodo chuckled, liking that word, "say it again! Who am I to you? Who are we?"

"We're everything!" Amelia said, embracing him, taking in more of his scent. "You're my everything."

"My love," Frodo said with a chuckle and a light-hearted smile. He took in her features, loving everything there was about her. He smiled, telling her as he picked her up, carrying her on his back, "come on. We've got a maze to finish."

.

Shirina watched the entire scene play out from her tree. She was good at keeping tabs with everybody while observing the couples trying to find each other. Oh, it was so thrilling… wait. Something wasn't right! No! Frodo and Amelia were getting along, and the others were doing what Shirina didn't want them to do!

Love! Oh, how she hated that word! What was this? Oh no! The four couples were about to leave her maze! The connection… it was shaking. Were they trying to break the connection, too?

.

Frodo's breathing raced as he darted across the maze, carrying Amelia piggy back style on his way towards the exit. He slashed a couple of dark monsters, before taking a turn, sniffing out a forest with loose, fresh soil and a path as clear as daylight. The forest was pretty much dead, but also dark and disturbing. It was a place where few hardly traveled to, and yet he could sense another presence, one that was cold and chilled him to the bone.

Amelia's screams got his attention. Frodo hesitated upon seeing the specter. "Na-Na-Nazgûl! NAZGÛL!"

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam called out, joining him. He glowered at the specter, growling at it. "Oh, what is this creature doing here?"

"We made it! There's the exit!" Merry called out, pointing to the exit, an opening where the sunlight was most clear, that was in the near distance. Amelia watched as Merry carry Estella, Pippin carry Diamond, and Sam carry Rosie carry piggy-back style. Smart move.

"Yyyyyyoooouuuuu sssssshhhhhaaalllll nnnnnnnneeeeevvveeerrrrr esssssccaaapppeee ttttttthhhheeee mmmaaaaazzzzzzzeeeee!" The lone Nazgûl hissed triumphantly. "Yyyyyoooouuuuu sssssshhhhhaaaaallll aaaaallllllll bbeeeeee ttttrrrrraaaappppeeeeddd hhhhheeeeerrreeee, wwwwwheeerrreeee nnnnnoooo dddddaaaaaawwwwnnn aaaappprrrrooooaaaacchheesssss!" The chill in the air was fierce when this Nazgûl advanced towards the hobbits, brandishing its Morgul blade.

"Not if I have anything to say for it!" Balin approached, brandishing his own silver axe. He charged at the Nazgûl, hacking and slashing at the foul beast. "You – shall – NEVER – GET – MY – FRIENDS! Yah! Yah! Yah! Take – that – fiend!"

"No! NOOOOO!" The Nazgûl screamed, finding the blows too disastrous to bear. It attempted another attack at the hobbits, particularly Frodo, for it knew that the hobbit vampire had carried the One Ring once. The Nazgûl could smell the Ring on him. It turned again, as Balin attacked it.

Oh, this was disastrous! The Nazgûl was losing! How could it lose? It couldn't take this anymore! Balin was too fierce. Soon enough, the Nazgûl evaporated, vanishing, as if the situation never occurred.

"Come on!" Frodo cried, taking the lead and leading his friends towards the exit.

They didn't stop running, for fear that the Nazgûl might return with a vengeance. Frodo looked at the exit, seeing it grow wider by the second. By the time he and his friends reached the exit, towards the dawn, the maze evaporated and the campus returned in its ruined state.

They did it! They beat the Nazgûl!

Snap!

Frodo stumbled as he held onto Amelia. The connection between him and Shirina weakened. He could feel it, he could feel Shirina's hold on him leave him. He looked at Sam and Rosie, pitying them as Rosie nearly fainted. The wound she carried on the side of her neck and collarbone was bleeding out, even with the wound starting to close up.

"We need to heal that wound. It looks painful," Frodo said, pointing to Rosie's wound.

"What do you know of it?" Sam asked, stubbornly.

"Hey, he's trying to help you! The least we can do is accept it," Amelia said, sharply, clinging to Frodo, making sure she didn't fall off him.

"We might have a way to break the connection," Estella said, gesturing to the library. "We'll need to get in there. I'll get the holy water."

"Holy water?" Frodo asked, curious.

"Yes, to break the connection fully," Estella said, taking off towards the church.

"I'll follow her," Diamond said, as Pippin helped her down.

Frodo looked on, hoping they knew what they were doing. Oh, he so wanted to end this connection with the Vampire Queen. He sighed, realizing this plan just might work!