Warnings: Slightly disturbing material, a scary moment, and guilt. Hee hee. It's a confession, guys! Wake up and smell the One Ring!
Disclaimer: Same as in chapter 1. Priest may still be considered mine, but Elrond is Tolkien's and this next character is Tolkien's too. :)
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are WAY cool…and the greatest inspiration ever for another chappie! Yehaw!Greed Confession
"Have a seat."
A look of great guilt. Uncertainty. Nervousness.
The little wooden stool again creaked in feeble protest as a small figure sat down upon it, but did not give way despite the noises it made. Stools have a way of doing that.
The priest on the other side of the small window in the door sat down upon his own chair, smoothing out his white robes with his gnarled hands and reclining in his own small seat before looking out through the decorated window that had skillfully been repaired after its last attack and over to the smaller figure sitting on the stool that he actually had to bend his neck down a bit to see.
But the priest never judged people by their appearances, so instead he sat back again, and gave a nod. "Begin."
"Bless me Father, for I have sinned." The hobbit spoke in a hushed tone, his head bowed as he spoke and a look of quiet guilt upon his small, round face. "I…I bring the sin of greed to the throne of the Lord."
The priest raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I see. And where does this greed come from, my child? Do you know what has caused it?"
"I dare not speak its name." The hobbit whispered, his large blue eyes closing tightly and his hands clenching together so forcefully it almost seemed painful. "For to speak it would only bring further temptation upon me."
"Hmmm. Indeed." The priest murmured quietly, rubbing his chin and leaning forward slightly in his seat so as better to see out the small window. "Well, this is obviously quite serious. Can you tell nothing of what causes you this feeling of want, my child?"
"Something of great evil." The hobbit replied, his curly head still bowed as he spoke, and his hands entwining with each other nervously. "I…I was sent to destroy it…but I feel that I cannot part with it. Like it's…it's mine, my own…my…um…"
"Your…what?" The priest coaxed gently, urging the small figure on as he spoke of the rather anxious subject.
"…my precious." The hobbit finally finished meekly.
"Your precious?" The priest asked, now looking just a bit disconcerted at the strange wording that the small being had used. "And what exactly do you mean by saying my precious, Frodo Baggins?"
"Well…it-it is generally what people say when they are greatly obsessed with something, and desire it above anything else." Frodo said, looking up at the ceiling briefly with a stiff jaw, as if saying this was not coming easy at all. "And that is an ill thing indeed for the burden I carry…for if I were to claim it as my own…"
The priest remained silent, listening carefully for the hobbit to continue, but there was silence for several seconds.
"…I think I would start to get a rather serious throat condition and start to look like a deformed frog of sorts."
Both of the priest's eyebrows went up. "A deformed frog? My child, what do you speak of? Do you perhaps think that God will curse you because of your desire for this thing?"
"Well…no…but the thing I want will curse me."
"How so?"
"I would demonstrate, but that would mean the end of the world."
"Oh. Most unusual…"
"It is, Father."
"It sounds rather dangerous."
"Well, it is that as well. Actually, it is even a danger for me to be here. For I have been pursued for nearly a year now…"
"By what?"
At that moment, a sudden, piercing shriek cut through the still air of the church, and a cold wind blowing in through the open windows near the front doors caused the light, white curtains to flap wildly in the room and blow out many candles on the altar…and within the second of that screech, the small room was brought into darkness that the priest had not seen in the place for a great while during his ministry.
And to make matters worse, Frodo now seemed more frightened than a rabbit cornered by a fox, clutching something wildly in his hand and darting his eyes here and there about the room as if searching for an attacker of some kind. "Them…" He spoke softly. "They have found me…I knew they had followed me here!"
"Er…who?" The priest asked, now sounding a bit nervous as well as the cold wind continued to blow in eerily through the window and chill everything and everyone it touched.
"Them…" Frodo whispered, before opening his hand silently and gazing down at something round and shiny in the palm of his hand. "They have come for me…and for THIS!" He said, thrusting his hand toward the small window where the priest's face was…finally displaying the One Ring for the old man to see. "Do you see now why I desire it so!"
The priest stared at the Ring quietly for a few moments, not quite certain what a thing as small and trivial as a piece of jewelry could do to cause such desire in a hobbit, much less anyone else. "Frodo…tell me…how great of a desire to have this ring is upon you and the others of your kind?"
"Great enough that it has resulted in killing one of my companions." Frodo responded, catching his breath just slightly before placing the Ring carefully back in his pocket. "But you needn't worry. I am safe in here. Creatures of such darkness cannot enter a place of sanctuary."
"…yes…quite a relieving knowledge…" The priest replied, still sounding a bit edgy as he sat back in his seat and tried to allow his heartrate to go back to normal. "So then…as for what you should do with this…desire of yours, my child…I would suggest giving it to the Lord, and praying for guidance and strength. God will see you through this…even if it takes a few things to happen first to let us see it."
Frodo nodded quietly, standing up from the stool then and giving the priest one nod of gratitude before looking up at the golden crucifix hanging up near the wall, crossing himself, and then turning to go up the stairs to the Prayer Tower to do as he was told.
Leaving the priest alone to go and close the windows that were still allowing a faint, chilly breeze in to taunt the room.
All righty! Can't believe there's another chapter up here! Super thanks to all you reviewers! Without you guys, none of this would've been possible…and a special thanks to Lina-Baggins for the suggestion!
And who knows? If you guys liked this one there just might be room for another chapter down the road here…
Review Responses
Lina-Baggins: Awww, you're so sweet! And my first reviewer no less! huggles Thank you so much for the review…and look! Your idea is up on screen! high fives
Kabuki733701: Thanks for your comment! And yes, the material in this story is indeed rather intense, as I put a warning for up at the top of the page. I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but that is also why this is a K+ rated story, and not K. That warning was for disturbing material, talk of harm (as you could see), and some slightly scary thoughts. Hehe. What do you expect when you're reading a story about the confessions of some of Tolkien's characters! Eeek! Anyway, enough jabbering. Thanks again for the review!
Anawey: laughs You are definitely right! It is very scary. Confessions, ya know? I'm glad you thought it was good though. It's just a little dabbling I did on a boring day, and I expected that some people would think it's a pretty freaky piece of fiction. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to review though! And don't be afraid to laugh! I do it all the time! Mwahahahahahha! Hope you liked the new chappie! (although it is definitely a bit scarier than the other one, eh? But you gotta admit, Frodo's got some pretty creepy enemies chasin' him around…)