Chapter Two
Lothlórien frightened Sam in a way that Rivendell hadn't. The Lady Galadriel was lovely, but immensely more intense than Lord Elrond had been. When she looked at him, Sam felt as if she saw straight to his soul. She did not seem pleased by what she saw there. So it was with much trepidation that he followed her when she had beckoned.
"This is the Mirror of Galadriel. It shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell. I bid you look into its waters, but do not touch them," the Lady stated, indicating the silver basin filled with water.
He felt foolish for staring into the clear water, but Lady Galadriel was intent on watching him, so he didn't dare to break his gaze from the bowl. He felt himself jump when shapes started to form, and even if he had tried, he could no longer look away. In the blink of an eye, the world around him had faded to black and the ancient forest was gone. In the black abyss there appeared a single Eye that slowly grew, until it filled nearly all the Mirror. The eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat's, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing.
Darkness faded into a cold, pale light. The six companions stood at the very edge of the Dead Marshes, shivering in the cold winter morning. Dark clouds loomed over the mountains that edged the eastern horizon.
"Mount Doom," Gandalf stated, pointing to one of the distant mountains crowned with an angry red glow. Sam gulped as it seemed to pulse with life. He felt as if he were trapped between the jaws of some great, evil creature—the crags of the Emyn Muil looming behind him, and the mountains in the distance trapping him inside. The Ring weighed heavily around his neck and the chain bit into his flesh.
"We shall cross the marshes and continue eastward," Gandalf stated solemnly.
"You mean to make for the Stairs of Cirith Ungol?" Aragorn asked with a note of trepidation in his voice.
"It is the safest route, despite what lies hidden there. She at least serves no master but herself, and if we can pass unnoticed through her lair, we stand a better chance than fighting our way through the hoards of Orcs and other creatures lying in wait inside the Black Gate," Gandalf replied.
"You cannot mean to pass through the lair of the last child of Ungoliant!" Legolas cried out in despair.
"I will follow you, Gandalf, even if an elf won't. Dwarves aren't afraid of anything!" Gimli stated, gripping his battle axe firmly as if he were ready to start swinging it already.
"There is good reason to fear Shelob, who was there before Sauron, and before the first stone of Barad-dûr," Gandalf replied.
"If there is such danger in store for us, why then do we go this way? If first we went to Gondor, we could storm the Black Gate with an army of men!" Boromir interjected.
"Sauron will not suspect us to use this road. Shelob may well be a greater risk than a thousand Orcs, because she cares not for rings, or anything devised by mind or hand. Maybe it is a foolish hope for me to believe that together we may be able to make it through the dark passages alive, but it is a hope we must all hold on to," Gandalf stated calmly.
The days seemed to get progressively shorter as they crossed the Dead Marshes. Sam did not sleep well at night, despite the knowledge that one of the others was always on watch. More and more it seemed as if Boromir had been eying him hungrily. The longer they traveled, the more he insisted that they make for Gondor.
"It is folly to head for this Torech Ungol," Boromir argued with Aragorn.
"Do not speak its name," Gandalf hissed angrily.
"It would be greater folly to stray from our path now," Aragorn replied. It was the same conversation they had been having every day since they had entered the swamps.
"Gondor is not weak! You claim to be the king, but know nothing of my people! My men have given their lives so that you could hide in the wilderness doing nothing! Bring the Ring to them, and we shall have a chance to fight back, a chance to avenge those that we have lost!" Boromir stated.
"I know more about the people of Gondor than you realize. I also know that the Ring must be destroyed. None of us here can control it, Boromir, not even Gandalf. I do not wish to see our people die needlessly because you have been swayed by Sauron's evil ways." Aragorn was calm, but there was a hardness to his tone that left no room for argument.
Boromir and Aragorn were not the only ones that would argue constantly. Legolas and Gimli quarreled ceaselessly between themselves, though since leaving Lothlórien, it was more good-natured than anything else. On rare occasions though, Gandalf would need to separate the two so that they did not try to hurt one another.
It was hard to dislike that pair, but Sam thought that even they lusted after the Ring. It seemed as if their eyes were always watching him, waiting for him to fall asleep so that they could take it for themselves. And so most nights Sam would spend with one eye open, hoping that he would live to see the morning and the Ring wouldn't take control of his companions.
Author's Note: Okay, so my last author's note was rather abrupt. This isn't going to be a very long story. It'sabout four chapters andnine pageslong in MSWord, and I don't plan on adding anything to it. I wrote it for a philosophy class. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it.