Ok guys, another chapter. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 8

AMY

After tromping through the many feet of snow on Caradhras, we finally, and safely, hit solid ground. Our faces were all red and raw from the wind, and we were happy to feel the warmth again. But I'm sure they wouldn't be happy to face Moria. I slightly cringed at the thought, and at the death and pain that lied ahead for the fellowship.

We had been walking far days on end and it was obvious that everyone was tired, especially Frodo. No one else could tell, but I could see it, like it was some bright neon color that was screaming out at me. It wasn't so obvious to anyone else, accept maybe Gandalf, that the ring was taking hold of Frodo. I could see it in his eyes. They were beginning to turn red and you could see the dark circles forming under them. He was starting to be drawn to it, as was Boromir. He hardly ever took his eyes off of Frodo, or the Ring. I could tell it was starting to call out to him too.

Everyone else had been showing extraordinary resilience to the ring and obliviousness to its effects on the two victims. No one seemed to notice that it was taking hold. They all thought that Frodo was just as fine as the day he left the shire.

But at the moment, we were approaching the gates of Moria. I could just go up and shout the password, but I figured everyone could use a little break before we go on out way walking for days on end in the dark. I felt bad though, because Gandalf would die and everyone would get upset, but I was the only one who knew he would come back to life, and then everyone would get mad at me because I didn't save him even though I knew he would die.

"Amy, are you alright? You're crying again." I came out of my trance and realized there was a slight tear running down my cheek. I wiped it off with my thumb and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"No you're not," Legolas said, "there's something wrong." He paused for a moment. "Do you want to tell me?"

I sighed and shook my head no. Then, I thought about it for a minute and said, "Well, actually, yeah."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Well, you know what is going to happen to everyone," Legolas shook his head yes and I continued, "and you know that if I do anything about it, I could change the course of events." Legolas shook his head again. "Well, something is going to happen, but I can't tell you what, and I can't do anything about it, and I can't stop it from happening. I just want you to know that everything that happens happens for a reason, and I need you to promise me that you won't hold me responsible for whatever happens. I need to know that you're not going to yell at me for not doing anything to stop what's supposed to happen."

He stopped me in my tracks, grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes with his piercing blue gaze.

"I swear to you, I understand and will never hold you responsible." I shifted my head downwards, smiling and blushing slightly, and avoiding his gaze. I felt a finger on my chin as it got lifted and he looked right into my eyes again. "I promise." He sealed the promise with a kiss and we kept walking.

No more then a minute later we came upon the lake and Gandalf searched for the door. I was trying hard to contain myself from shouting the password, but it was in everyone's best interest not to. They all needed a breath of fresh air for at least an hour before they get walking again.

"Speak friend and enter," everyone contemplated as we all sat in front of the door.

"What do you think it means?" Legolas asked me.

"I can't tell you, I'm just going to let you guys figure it out."

He nodded and we both continued to stare at the water in the lake as he contemplated the riddle and I kept an eye out for the Watcher in the water. After an hour of sitting there, Merry and Pippin decided they wanted to skip stones across the water. I jumped up and started yelling.

"DON'T DO THAT! You don't know what lives in that water! Did you ever think that if they went to so much trouble to shut the gate they might keep something out here to keep people from going inside!"

They hung their heads in shame and I took a deep breath.

"What's the elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked as he had a break through with the riddle.

"Mellon." Gandalf answered as door slowly opened. We all rushed inside into the dwarf city. It got suddenly got dark and I heard a crunch sound as I walked through the door into the mines.

"What was that? " Frodo asked as we all looked around. Gandalf lit his light and revealed that there were skeletons everywhere. Seeing it in real life was so much worse then in the movie. The bones and decay gave off a horrible stench, and the image of the old carcasses sent a shiver through my spine. A sudden feeling of nausea overcame me as I jumped backwards, and as luck would have it, right onto Legolas' foot. He let out a small "ouch" as he put his hands on my shoulders. I walked backwards and stepped onto another skeleton. I let out a small squeal and he put a hand over my mouth. Once he removed it, I took a deep breath and said, "alright, regaining composure." Standing up straighter, I got hold of myself and got rid of my fear, even though I knew what lied ahead.

Then, out of nowhere, the Watcher came out of the water and grabbed Frodo.

"FRODO!" I screamed as Legolas grabbed for his bow and I grabbed for my daggers. There was a lot of hacking and slashing at the tentacles of the Watcher, and finally I ran up to it, jumped into the air, did a 360 and sliced the tentacle off, landing gracefully on the ground. Frodo was tossed when the tentacle was severed and as soon as I could figure out what was going on, an arrow whizzed by my head. Legolas shot one right at its eye.

I ran towards the entrance of the mines and just as the tentacle came past my head I dove through the entrance and it came collapsing down after me. I was lying down on the ground and I felt a warm hand grasping mine. Legolas pulled me up from the cold stone floor and I winced. My ankle was twisted.

"Shit!" I cursed as I stood up and took my weight off of it. A rock must have fallen on it. I don't think it was sprained, just twisted.

"Are you all right?" he asked me.

"I think I twisted my ankle." I winced.

"Lean on my shoulder." I put my arm around him, using him as a crutch, and limped my way through Moria.

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YAY! Look for chapter 9 soon...and for those of you who are wondering, yes, we will be seeing Tommy again, maybey not soon, but he plays a part