The Right Path is Never Easy

.oOo.

Amelia loved swimming with Frodo. She stared at him longingly, kissing him on his neck in a tender way. Just hearing Frodo moan made her heart soar. She wanted to kiss him longer, not letting him go, even as he did the same for her.

"Oh, my Amelia!" Frodo said, smiling. They found their own cave and spent the morning there, sleeping for the most part. He smiled when Amelia woke up, earning herself at least two or three hours of sleep. He was grateful to have her by his side as his wife.

But now, it was time to get moving. "Would you like some breakfast?" He asked her, the second he stopped kissing her shoulder blade.

"I would love some!" Amelia said, breathing heavily.

Frodo chuckled, looking at her affectionately. "Come on." He took her hand, leading her outside the cave. "Let's see what we can find."

They swam until they found some fresh crab. Two crabs actually. It looked like a good morning meal. Frodo took the crabs, leading Amelia over to a fissure, where they cooked the crabs. Frodo joined her over by a rock, staring at her, impressed with how she was taking her new life.

"Why don't we just stay as merfolk?" Frodo suggested, enjoying her presence. "I mean, why not? The Sea is freedom. No worries. We could stay here, always. How about it?"

"Freedom. Free from worries." Amelia's thoughts retreated to something she was forgetting. What was it that she knew about the Sea and its freedom? Something was missing.

"Ah! Breakfast is ready," Frodo said, grabbing the cooked crabs and handing one to Amelia.

"Thank you, Frodo," Amelia said, eating the crab to her heart's content.

As soon as they were finished, Amelia followed Frodo, after he put a fistful of nets inside a satchel, to a pool of water where the King and Queen's waterfall cave was located. Already, Amelia could sense the King and Queen were close, but so were hers and Frodo's friends. Melvin was there, too!

At last, Amelia and Frodo's heads broke the surface. There was Balin and Kili, chatting with Jess and Cindi in their normal dwarvish speech while petting the killer rabbit. Frodo eyed them suspiciously. What were they doing?

"What are you doing here?" Frodo asked Balin and Kili, worried. "We're merfolk! Shouldn't you turn Jess and Cindi into merfolk? Why are they still human?"

Balin sighed in despair. "Because we must return to being dwarves and hobbits."

"No!" Amelia said, not liking what she was hearing.

"Come on! Just let them be merfolk!" Frodo cried, seeing Jess and Cindi's serious looks.

"We're not going to be merfolk," Jess said, annoyed.

Amelia hissed. She didn't like this. "Well, fine. If you won't be mermaids, then… grrrr!" She dived underwater, unsure what else to do.

The more she swam, the more she thought about what transpired here. The Sea… freedom… Frodo was wrong. She knew what the Sea represented. Loneliness. Open spaces with hardly anyone to talk to. That's what she knew. She swam back to the waterfall cave to find Balin and Kili holding Frodo back.

"Frodo," Amelia called out, getting her husband's attention. She swam closer to him, telling him in concern, "we have to change back. We have to defeat the King and Queen." She spoke before Frodo could protest, "I know it's tough to hear! The Sea is great, but there's something else, too. While it may be freedom, it really isn't. I know what it feels like to be alone. To be free of worrying… it's fine for a while, but after that's gone, what can you do? The worrying doesn't stop, Frodo. The loneliness doesn't stop!"

She sighed. "Some things don't last long." She crossed her arms. "That's why we grin and bear it. That's why we embrace it. If we accept the loneliness and the worrying, then the freedom part will come naturally, but this is not the place for it, Frodo.

"I know that now. I hope you will understand," she finished, wondering what Frodo would do now.

Frodo sighed, nodding in return. "You're right." He felt more like himself again. "Let's change back. Let's defeat the King and Queen."

"Oh, Melvin was telling us how he defeated all the evil merfolk, except the King and Queen," Balin said. "Now is our chance to defeat them!"

Amelia wanted to ask about her friends' plan but decided to wait until they reached the surface. Now that she felt like a mermaid, she felt bolder, more cunning. She could do this. She could defeat the King and Queen.

.

Amelia stayed with her friends on dry land, keeping her tail in the water at all times. The last thing she wanted to do was dry out, for that would be bad if that happened.

The plan was simple. The King and Queen had powers, as Jess and Cindi found out. They would have to attack them in groups, distract the King and Queen, while Melvin advanced and beheaded the King and Queen.

It was a sound plan, but Amelia had to make sure it was a good one. When they finished debating, Amelia turned to Frodo, taking his hand in hers.

"Are you happy now?" Frodo sighed. "Do you think we'll be able to do this?"

Amelia inhaled and exhaled. "We have to. We don't have much of a choice."

"Then I wish us luck," Frodo stared at the group, knowing this was right, "To journey's end."

"To journey's end," Amelia agreed, squeezing his hand in return.