Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption
…
Chapter 6: The Lady of Lothlorien
Arthur winced slightly as his eyes first met the sunshine of the outside world. The smell of fresh mountain air hit his nose which almost made him sigh in relief, but it was dampened by what had happened in Moria. Arthur hung his head in sorrow as the memory of Gandalf falling to his death ran through the cowboy's mind. And memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny's deaths all paraded through his mind too.
Burying the memories for a later date, Arthur looked to the rest of the Fellowship. Samwise was sitting on the ground, his head held in his hand, weeping. Merry was trying to console a sobbing Pippin and Boromir was trying to restrain Gimli who was trying to make his way back into the Mines, roaring his grief and anger. Legolas had a look of shock and disbelief, his blue-grey eyes puzzled and unsure of what had happened. Arthur then looked at Aragorn who did not appear to be grieving; if he was, he was hiding it well.
Aragorn wiped the blade of his sword clean and spoke. "Legolas, get them up," he commanded. The Elf Prince glanced at the Dunédain before walking over to the Hobbits and got them on their feet.
"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir said in a pleading voice, his voice choked by grief.
"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with goblins!" Aragorn said to the Gondorian. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien!" he declared.
"Aragorn's right," Arthur said. "I know what just happened was rough, but we gotta keep moving, or else those goblins will catch up to us," he added.
"How can you say that so easily, Morgan?!" Boromir demanded angrily. "Do you even know what it's like to lose a friend or loved one while being powerless to stop it?!" he shouted.
Arthur clenched his hands and walked over to Boromir and got in the man's face. "You think I don't know what it's like to watch a friend or loved one die in front of me?" the cowboy asked him, his voice low and dangerous. "Believe you me, I know what it's like to lose friends and people I care about! I watched three of the people I call family die in front of me and I couldn't do a thing to stop it!" he said angrily. "And I watched as the man I called friend and brother slowly lose himself and betray everything he ever believed in!" he added.
"So, don't stand there accusing me of not knowing what it's like to lose friends and loved ones! Because I know what it's like!" Arthur growled at Boromir who looked shock at the look of anger and grief on Arthur's face.
"Now, c'mon! We gotta get moving, or else Gandalf's sacrifice will be all for nothing!" Arthur spat as he turned on his heel and marched off. "I'm gonna scout ahead, make sure the way is clear!" he said to Aragorn, the tone of his voice indicating that he was going to do it regardless. Aragorn nodded in understanding.
…
Arthur marched ahead, his Lancaster in his hands as he jogged ahead, checking for any signs of enemies. Stopping a moment to take stock of his surroundings, Arthur was once again visited by memories of the gang. Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, Arthur tired once more to bury the memories of the gang.
"Can't look back, not now," the cowboy muttered to himself and he looked to see the rest of the Fellowship catching up to him.
"Arthur? Is the way clear?" Aragorn asked him as he neared.
"Looks to be that way," Arthur grunted in reply. Looking ahead, Arthur spied golden-green leaved trees in the distance. "That would Lothlorien, right?" he asked Aragorn who nodded.
"Right, well, let's keep moving then," the cowboy said as he began to march on and the rest of the Fellowship followed him.
The Fellowship jogged across a green meadow, halting under the eaves of the golden-green trees before them before entering the threshold. Lichen and moss covered the trunks and boughs of the tall trees and leaves twirled as they floated down to the grassy floor.
Arthur glanced about uneasily; for some reason he could feel eyes watching him and he tightened his grip on his Lancaster, ready to cock it and aim at whatever was watching him.
"Stay close, young hobbits!" Gimli whispered to the Halflings. "They say a great sorceress lives in these woods… an elf-witch of terrible power! All who look upon her fall under her spell…" he said.
Arthur half listened to the dwarf, too preoccupied with his sense of unease in the forest. Then a soft voice whispered in his head.
"Arthur…" The cowboy looked around startled but he saw no-one whispering his name and the voice whispered in his head again. "Your arrival in this world has not gone unnoticed," the voice whispered. Arthur felt a chill run down his spine at those words. The voice whispered further, "But whether your actions are for good or ill rests on the choices you make."
The voice did not whisper anymore and Gimli's voice spoke proudly. "Well, here is one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!" he boasted confidently. But then an arrow was suddenly pointed in the dwarf's face, pulled back on a bowstring. Gimli gave an "Oh!" of surprise having been caught off guard so easily. Other arrows nocked to bows appeared in front of the Fellowship, all wielded by elves wearing cloaks. Legolas had his own bow out, aimed at the other elves. Arthur aimed down the iron sights of his repeater, ready to fire the first shot.
Then walking out into view was a tall golden haired elf who said, "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could've shot him in the dark." Gimli gave a growl and glared at the elf.
"Not very polite to sneak up on a feller pointing an arrow in his face, especially he's got an itchy trigger finger," Arthur stated as he aimed his repeater in the elf's direction. The elf looked blandly at the cowboy.
"Our Lady sensed your approach, Arthur Morgan," the elf then said to Arthur.
"Well, ain't that dandy," Arthur scoffed. "If you know who I am, then there ain't a need to fight now, is there?" he said and the elf nodded and his men lowered their bows, after which Arthur lowered his repeater.
…
The elves took the Fellowship up into one of the tall trees on a platform. The lead elf was speaking with Aragorn and Legolas, greeting them with some form of familiarity. From what Arthur could gather of the conversation, the elf's name was Haldir, leader of the Lothlorien guard, but other than that, Arthur couldn't say for he had still yet to learn the elvish language.
Haldir, Aragorn and Legolas's conversation in elvish seemed to annoy Gimli who spoke up. "So much for the legendary courtesy of the elves!" he mocked. "Speak words we can all understand!" he demanded.
Haldir levelled his gaze at the dwarf and said, "We have not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark days."
"And you know what this dwarf says to that?" Gimli replied before speaking what Arthur could only guess was something very rude judging by the cold look on Haldir's face.
"Might wanna keep a lid on that mouth of yers, Gimli," Arthur said to the dwarf. "Specially when these fellers could kill us all and no one would ever find out," he added.
Haldir then glanced at Frodo and spoke. "You bring great evil here with you," he said. "You can go no further," he added looking at Aragorn sternly. With that, Haldir walked away and Aragorn followed to speak with him. Sam, Merry and Pippin looked at Frodo who looked uncomfortable at this.
As Aragorn argued quietly in elvish with Haldir, the rest of the Fellowship took this moment to rest. Arthur thought about lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves, but he had a feeling that the elves may disapprove. Opting instead to pull out the flask of dwarven ale, Arthur unscrewed the cap and took a sip from it, sighing in relief as the alcohol made its way down his throat. Screwing the cap back on, Arthur tucked the flask back into his satchel and started to check his equipment. His guns had gotten a little dirty in the battle in the Mines and Orcrist still had some blood staining the blade. Taking out a rag and some oil, Arthur began to rub down his guns and sword, cleaning them as thoroughly as possible.
After cleaning his weapons, Arthur spotted Frodo sitting nearby, a look of sadness on the young hobbit's face. Arthur could only guess that the Ringbearer was still grieving over Gandalf's demise. Walking over to Frodo, Arthur knelt down in front of the hobbit and spoke to him.
"You alright there, boy?" the cowboy asked the hobbit who looked up at him but then looked away down at the forest floor. Arthur hummed in thought before saying, "Frodo, I know what we went through was tough. I certainly never saw it coming, but I think Gandalf died to save us, to save you. He gave his life so that we could keep going," he said.
"But how do I live with that?" Frodo asked looking back at Arthur.
"Honestly, I ain't too sure how anyone can live with the knowledge that someone they loved died," Arthur replied. "Years ago, I had a son and he died when he was just a kid. I had a girl who loved and I threw that away and my momma died when I was a kid. And my daddy? Well, I watched him die and it weren't soon enough," he said bitterly.
Frodo looked at Arthur in surprise. "What I'm trying to say, Frodo, is that you can't go on in life mourning everyone in your life who died," the cowboy said. "You gotta keep pushing forward, keep going and don't look back," he added.
"You're saying I should forget Gandalf?" Frodo asked, a slight frown forming on his features.
"I certainly ain't saying that, Frodo," Arthur replied. "Hell, we can't ever forget the people we love, even if it weren't the way we wanna remember them," he said. "What I'm trying to say, Frodo, is don't carry the weight of the dead with you for the rest of yer life," he added.
Frodo nodded in understanding and Arthur smiled at him before standing up just as Aragorn and Haldir finished their argument.
"You will follow me," Haldir said to the fellowship and everyone began to pack up and prepared to move out.
…
It took about a day as the Fellowship travelled with Haldir's patrol to Caras Galadhon. Arthur's jaw almost dropped to the ground as he saw just how massive the trees were and he could spy winding stairways and platforms built or rather grown into them. The beauty of this place was awe inspiring and Arthur again wished he had a journal and pencil so that he could draw/sketch this place.
Climbing a winding staircase up one of the massive trees, the sunlight slowly began to fade and night fell over the forest and moonlight spilled down, bathing everyone and everything in soft silver blue light. Soon the Fellowship came to what Arthur could only liken to a palace, lit with silvery lights and a small walkway leading to a low staircase that led to an archway. Three-pronged golden leaves were scattered about on the floor. As the Fellowship assembled before the archway, Haldir stepped to one side and looked to the archway. In a glow of soft white light, two elves descended down the stairway, a male and a female, hand in hand.
Arthur could only stare in awe at the two elves and he surmised that these were the rulers of Lothlorien. The rest of the fellowship stared in awe as well, and Aragorn touched his forehead as an act of respect. The Lord and Lady of Lothlorien stood before the Fellowship; the Lady had focussed her gaze on Frodo who looked back at her and the Lord spoke.
"The Enemy knows that you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone," he said. "Nine there are here, yet ten there were, when setting out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with, I can no longer see him from afar," he added.
The Lady glanced over at Aragorn who looked back at her calmly and she spoke with sorrow in her voice, "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the border of these lands. He has fallen into shadow," she said and Aragorn nodded at this.
"He was taken by Shadow and Flame. Balrog of Morgoth," Legolas said sorrowfully.
The Elf Lord's surprise was evident on his face and Legolas then spoke further. "For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." Gimli lowered his head in shame, knowing that he suggested, even outright insisted they go through Moria.
The Lady then spoke to Gimli kindly. "Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose. Do not the let the darkness of Khazad-Dum fill your heart, Gimli, Son of Gloin," she said and Gimli looked up at her.
"For the world has grown full of peril, and in all lands, love is now mingled with grief."
Boromir lifted his face to look at the Lady who looked back at him. Boromir turned his head, weeping.
"I am sorry for your loss," the elf lord said softly. "But what of your tenth member? Who is he among you?" he asked.
"Eh… that would be me, your lordship," Arthur said awkwardly, stepping forward. "My name's Arthur Morgan, I'm a… stranger to these lands," he introduced himself awkwardly.
"We welcome you to our lands, Arthur Morgan," the elf lord said respectfully and the Lady stared at Arthur who looked back at her.
"I sense many great things about you, Arthur Morgan," she said slowly. "Your life was full of tragedy and hardship. You lost your parents when you were a child and you were taken by a pair of men whom you greatly admired, but you watched one die in front of you, and you watched the other slowly lose himself to madness, twisted by a man you despised, even after you gave everything you had," she added.
"And I saw that you afflicted with an illness that helped you to see the wrongdoings of your life and that you tried to do some good with what life you had left before coming to this world," she then said.
"That's… about the sum of it," Arthur muttered feeling a little ashamed and embarrassed that those details were revealed about him.
"But it is not, is it?" the Lady asked him gently. "Of your days as an outlaw, running from the law and killing and robbing people," she then said.
Everyone looked at Arthur in surprise, apprehension on their faces. Arthur didn't have the courage to look them in the eye, but he did say, "Ma'am, I apologise but some thing I wanna keep to myself," he said ashamedly.
"As you wish, Arthur," the Lady replied kindly. The Elf Lord then spoke.
"While Gandalf has fallen and his death saddens us all, hope is not lost."
"however the quest stands upon the edge of a knife," the Lady said. "Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the company is true," she added looking at Samwise who held his gaze and did not look away.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace," the Lady said.
…
An area was provided for the Fellowship to rest in on the ground. In the trees, elves could be heard singing and one voice rose above the others while they sang softly in the background. Legolas walked by the Hobbits, thin silver cup in his hand.
"A lament for Gandalf," the Mirkwood Prince remarked.
Aragorn sat nearby, sharpening his sword while Gimli lay on his back snoring. Arthur sat nearby, deep in thought over how the Lady was able to sense all that she said about him.
"What do they say about him?" Merry asked Legolas about the song the elves were singing.
"I have not the heart to tell you," Legolas said sadly. "For me, the grief is still too near," he added.
"I bet they don't mention his fireworks," Samwise said. "There should be averse about them," he added before standing to his feet and said, "The finest rockets ever seen, theu burst in stars of blue and green," he recited.
Gimli snored loudly as Samwise continued, "Or after thunder, silver shows!" Gimli snored loudly again and Aragorn swatted the dwarf's pillow eliciting a grunt from him. "Came falling down like a…" Samwise faltered struggling to find the right words. "Like a rain of flowers!" he declared before he sighed and sat back down onto his bedroll.
"Oh, that doesn't do them any justice, not by a long road," the Gamgee muttered unhappily.
Arthur then noticed Aragorn walk over to speak to Boromir, then Merry's voice called out to him.
"Mister Morgan, sir?" Arthur looked over the Brandybuck and said, "Yeah? What is it?" he asked.
"About what Lady Galadriel said, is it true?" Merry asked. "That you were an outlaw and killed and robbed people?" he asked timidly.
"It was in a way, depending how you looked at it," Arthur replied sadly. "In the beginning I didn't do much killing. I had principles back then, if you can believe that," he said with a bitter chuckle. "Times was, we used to help folk and we only robbed from those who too much and refused to share. One time we robbed a bank and gave most of the money away to those who had less than we did," he added.
"So, what changed?" Samwise asked.
"Well, we started taking on more hungry mouths in our gang and our dreams got bigger, and we had to start to looking after our own more than we had to look after others," Arthur replied. "Then some things happened, and it all went downhill," he said.
"You friends?" Legolas asked.
"Yeah, some of 'em ended up dead, or just went crazy," Arthur said as he was lost in his memories of the gang's final days. "I did what I could to keep the gang from falling apart, but it was too late in the end," he added.
"If you knew what you do now and could go back, would you have changed anything?" Legolas asked.
"I dunno, to be honest," Arthur said thoughtfully. "I remember saying to John to not look back, to be a man for once in his life. Be pretty hypocritical of me not to follow my own advice," he added.
"I see," Legolas said softly.
Arthur sighed before saying, "Well, the past is past. I dunno if everything I did can be forgiven or forgotten, but I… I guess I gotta do what I can to make up for it all," he said.
Arthur then lay back on his bedroll, covering his face with his hat and closed his eyes, hoping he could get some much-needed sleep.
…
A couple of hours later, Arthur woke up and he sat up, putting his hat beside him and looked around. Seeing the rest of the Fellowship asleep, the cowboy sighed and made to go back to sleep when a familiar voice whispered to him.
"Arthur…"
Alerted, Arthur stood up and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then Arthur caught a glimpse of someone disappearing behind a tree. As if pulled by some invisible force, Arthur walked over and began to follow a pathway, catching only glimpse of whomever it was he was following. Then Arthur came to a small glade with a short stairway leading down into a pit where a plinth of stone and a silver bow on top of it stood in the centre.
"Arthur…" the voice called out to the cowboy again. Walking down the steps, Arthur went over to the silver bowl and found there was water in it. As Arthur gazed at the contents of the bowl, steam seemingly began to rise from it and images began to form themselves in the liquid. To Arthur's surprise, he saw a young boy with tousled brown hair playing with a wooden toy soldier. Arthur stared at the image of the child, thinking he had seen him before; his first thought it was John's son Jack, but dismissed that immediately as the boy in the water looked nothing like him.
Then a voice called out from the water, "Arthur!" and the boy looked up to see a young woman with a smile on her face. The woman's face was recognisable to Arthur and it was with shock that he realised what he was looking at.
"Is… is this me?" he asked himself just as the image in the water changed to see a still young slightly older boy meeting a younger version of Dutch and Hosea for the first time. Arthur stared at the younger versions of Dutch and Hosea, it was almost like it was yesterday or perhaps he was there himself.
The image changed again to the first ever bank job Arthur pulled with Dutch and Hosea and their growing gang, taking the money and distributing it amongst the poor. Arthur realised that this water was showing him his past and he was engrossed it. The images changed, showing pieces of life with the Van Der Linde Gang up until the fateful Blackwater Ferry job that began the slow descent into the fall of the gang. Everything from the escape from Blackwater, to Arthur visiting Mr Downes, the jobs and deaths of Sean, Hosea and Lenny, the gunfights with various rival outlaw gangs to the moment where he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and the end where Arthur pleaded with Dutch to see Micah for the snivelling rat he was.
The scene then changed to small green buildings seemingly built into the hills where they stood. The image showed six small children running through a meadow, laughing and playing and farmers in the background planting and sewing crops. The next image showed a town square of people laughing and enjoying themselves and it was then Arthur realised that these people were hobbits if they way they had no shoes on their large hairy feet were any indication. Arthur felt a little envious at the happy and simple lives these hobbits had.
But then the scene changed to one of fear and darkness as the hobbit homes were set on fire and the hobbits were fleeing for their lives by orcs. Arthur watched as one orc drove its cruelly shaped sword into a hobbit who had fallen over and yell in triumph. Arthur then saw with horror as the scene changed into a landscape with grey smoky skies and factories and machines were hobbits were whipped and forced into slave labour by the orcs. Then the scene changed to a flaming red that glared brightly at Arthur and seemed to try and drag him into it.
"Arthur!"
In a moment of panic, Arthur knocked the bowl of water onto the ground, spilling the water. Panting hard at what he just saw, Arthur backed away from it, his heart hammering in his chest. Then Arthur realised someone was standing behind him and he turned around to see Lady Galadriel watching him calmly.
"Er… sorry, I just…" Arthur tried to explain himself when Galadriel raised a hand to forestall his words.
"It is alright, Mr Morgan. I understand," she said kindly.
"What… what is that thing?" Arthur asked pointing at the silver bowl.
"This… is my mirror, Arthur," Galadriel replied as she picked up the bowl and set in on the plinth.
"A mirror?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "How did it show me all that stuff?" he then asked.
"This mirror has the power to show someone events of their past, present and even their future" Galadriel said mysteriously. Arthur looked at the mirror then back at Galadriel.
"So, that place was…?" he tried ask.
"The Shire. The home of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin and all hobbits," Galadriel confirmed.
"But why was it like that?" Arthur asked. "Is it in trouble?" A feeling of dread filled Arthur's chest as he realised that what he saw in that mirror could be happening right now.
"Frodo was here just before you, the mirror showed him what would happen if he were to fail in his quest," Galadriel replied.
"They'll all suffer," Arthur said in fear. He then asked another question burning on his mind. "And that… eye, that was Sauron, wasn't it?" he asked.
"Indeed, it was his spirit, and a spirit he shall remain until he reclaims what is his," Galadriel said.
"I have seen all the events of your past, Arthur Morgan. Who you are, what you were and what you have been through in your life and everything you lost and what little you gained for it. How you tried to do your best for everyone and do some good before the end," Galadriel then said.
"Hmm… yeah, I wasn't trying to seek forgiveness or anything, it wasn't about that at all fer me," Arthur replied. "I guess I was hoping that I could make my exit a little dignified than what I got," he said and he then gave a bitter humourless chuckle. "I've lived a bad life," he declared.
"We have all lived bad lives, Mr Morgan. We all sin," Galadriel said kindly.
"Heh, that's what the Sister said to me at the train station. Saw that too, huh?" Arthur remarked.
"Indeed, Arthur, I did," Galadriel replied with a smile. "I think you fool yourself into thinking that you're a bad person," she said. "You've done terrible things, but you are not a bad person. At least not entirely," she added.
"I don't know about that," Arthur muttered in response. "I mean, I could just walk away from all this and forget about everything and just go my own way and do what I always did," he said.
"But you wouldn't, would you?" Galadriel replied. "You could've walked away from Weathertop when the Nazgul attacked the Hobbits, but you chose to help," she said. "Choice is a powerful thing," she added.
"I guess so, but I've made a lot of bad choices in life," Arthur said sombrely.
"If you want to, you could look again and see what could've been," Galadriel offered gesturing to the mirror.
Arthur looked at the mirror contemplatively before sighing and shaking his head. "I don't think I could," he said to Galadriel. "I remember telling John before I sent him to his family to not look back, I guess I ought to do the same. I can't change the past, no matter how much I want to," he added sadly.
Galadriel nodded in understanding and said, "You are a good man, Arthur Morgan. You lived your life like a man and you turned into a good man in the end."
"I don't know about that, but I shall try," Arthur replied.
"Let your actions lead then, and your heart will follow," Galadriel said to the cowboy who nodded and left the glade.
…
The next morning, mist lay heavily on the river and tree branches arced through the fog and sunlight fell on the cold blue waters. On the shore of the riverbank, the Fellowship were cloaked in the same cloaks as the Lothlorien elves with green silver veined brooches fastening them around their necks.
"Never before have we clad outsiders in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks shield you from unfriendly eyes," Lord Celeborn said to the fellowship.
The Fellowship began to load some supplies given to them by the Elves onto the boats they were take down the river. Arthur was helping Legolas load some parcels of what looked like some kind of baked bread. Merry and Pippin were nearby and Legolas held up a wafer of the bread.
"Lembas, elvish way-bread," the Mirkwood elf said before taking a small bite of the wafer. "One bite is enough to fill a grown man's stomach," he added as he put the bread back in the parcel.
"Well, we won't have to worry about food for a while if one is all we need," Arthur chuckled before a loud burp caught his attention. Turning around to look at Merry and Pippin, mostly at Pippin, Arthur questioned him.
"How many did you eat?"
"Four," Pippin admitted with another burp escaping him.
Arthur growled and said to the Took sternly. "You gotta keep your stomach under control, boy! I don't wanna have to explain to everyone else when we run short o' food!" Arthur then went back to loading the boats, muttering as to how Pippin could so much for such a tiny person.
…
Before the Fellowship set on the river, they were given gifts by the elves. Galadriel spoke to Arthur, offering him a journal.
"I saw in your past that you were something of a writer and since you do not have your journal, I thought to rectify that," the Lady of Lorien said with a smile.
"Thank you, my lady. I greatly appreciate this," Arthur replied gratefully.
"I also have another gift to give you," Galadriel said. "Give me your revolver," she requested.
Cautious, Arthur handed over his Schofield to Galadriel who held it gently in her palm. Running her other palm over the gun, it was bathed in blue light and seemingly engraving itself on the grip of the gun was a small rune in the shape of a sun. Galadriel then handed the gun back to Arthur who looked at it.
"What… did you?" the cowboy asked as he looked at the small rune now on his gun.
"A little something that will help you in your time of utmost need," Galadriel replied with a smile.
Arthur nodded his thanks and holstered his gun.
…
The Fellowship then departed Lothlorien by the river. Rowing past the elves who stood along the shores, then sun rose over the hills as the Fellowship rowed their boats. Voices began to sing with the rising sun and Arthur looked back to see Galadriel standing along the shore.
Arthur thought back on the gifts everyone had been given; Legolas had been given a bow of the Galadhrim, Merry and Pippin received Noldorin daggers, Sam received some elven rope and Aragorn had been given an Elvish knife. Gimli asked to look upon Galadriel one last time and for a lock of her hair. Frodo had been given a tear shaped glass bottle of liquid that glowed.
As the Fellowship travelled along the river and onto the larger branch of the Anduin river beneath sheer cliffs. Arthur was in the lead boat by himself and behind him was Aragorn with Frodo. Boromir was with Merry and Pippin while Legolas and Gimli were in the rear. As the Fellowship continued their way, Legolas looked into the forests along the river, asif sensing something amiss. Arthur felt something was amiss as well and the loud cawing of a crow alerted everyone.
Night began to fall as the Fellowship took a moment to rest on a small sandbar in the river. Arthur stood on lookout with a cigarette pinched between his lips and his Lancaster in his hands. The cowboy then spied a wooden log floating down the river and he noticed a pair of hands holding onto the log and looking further, he spied an ugly looking face with large wet eyes glaring at him. Arthur aimed down the sights of his repeater, threatening to take aim at whatever the creature was.
"Ugly bastard," he muttered.
"That is Gollum," Aragorn said walking up to stand beside Arthur.
"Who?" Arthur asked lowering his repeater.
"Gollum, or Smeagol he was once called was once a Stoor, an early type of Hobbit before he found the One Ring and drove him mad, granting him long life," Aragorn replied. "It was Frodo's uncle Bilbo who took the ring from Gollum and he now hunts for it, calling it his precious," he said. "He follows us in hopes of reclaiming it," he added.
"Maybe I ought to send him a little message?" Arthur said with a sly smile as he aimed down at Gollum who tried to hide beneath the log he was using to float down river.
"There is no need. He is of little danger to us," Aragorn said.
"Ehh… maybe you're right," Arthur agreed. "Still, don't like the idea of that creepy thing following us," he said grimly as the log then floated and got stuck on some rocks.
"Arthur?" Arthur winced slightly and he looked at Aragorn, having a feeling what the Dunédain was about to ask. "Was it true?" the ranger asked.
"Was what true?" Arthur feigned.
"Your life before you came here, your life as an outlaw," Aragorn clarified. "Was it true?" he asked.
"More or less, I suppose," Arthur admitted reluctantly. "You wondering if you should kick me outta the group?" he asked Aragorn in a tired voice as if expecting it.
"No. Not yet at least," Aragorn replied. "You've proven to be a good man thus far, and you don't appear to have any desire for the ring, so I should give you the benefit of the doubt," he said.
"Thank you, for your trust then, I suppose," Arthur said, a little surprised at Aragorn's response.
"Truth be told, I had a feeling that you were an outlaw since we first met," Aragorn then said.
"Really? What gave me away?" Arthur chuckled.
"I've hunted down enough outlaws and bandits to recognise the small signs, how you acted, and things you spoke about," Aragorn replied.
"Guess I should be a little less forthcoming next time," Arthur said with a dry chuckle. Aragorn gave a slight chuckle as well.
"Come now, it's Boromir's turn to take watch," the Dunédain said to the cowboy who nodded, feeling grateful to get some sleep.
Arthur lay on his bedroll staring up at the stars, thinking over what had been revealed to the Fellowship before closing his eyes and getting some sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! The sixth chapter of this story done and dusted! I hope it was enough to satisfy you all since so many of you want to keep reading this. I cannot promise regular updates, but I will try to keep this story going.
Haven't got much more to say, other than reviews and feedback are appreciated and welcome, so long as they're constructive, helpful and polite.
And that's about all I have, so I'll see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.