Author's notes: Sorry that this chapter took so long. I find it rather hard to get inside Frodo's head, and he was never my favorite character. This is mostly book-verse, mostly because Frodo is a bit less wimpy in the books. I looked it up; he falls down 39 times in the entire trilogy! That aside, if you have only seen the movies that's fine, but don't be surprised if there are a few minor differences. I apologize for mixing up book-verse and movie-verse so much, (I even used them both in the same word drabble, side by side) they are both part of the same world to me. Please review, constructive criticism much appreciated.

Chapter 2. Frodo's POV

Fever

The worst I've ever been ill in my life was a particularly fever I encountered during the time I stayed in Brandybuck hall. It was awful, I was in bed for almost a week, and felt terrible. This is something else altogether. My shoulder feels at the same time ice cold and burning hot. I have been pierced by a Morgul blade, Strider says. I wonder what that means, but I'm sure it's nothing even remotely good.

Deceit

Well it seems I was deceived. They told me that my wound was serious, and poisoned and all and that was why it was so awful, but only now, when the danger has passed, do I learn I was in danger of passing into the shadow world. I knew my life was in peril, but to be a ringwraith… that is a fate worse than death. I see why they didn't tell me, but I still wish they did. Poor Pippin, he has such an active mind, I can just see him contemplating all sorts of awful scenarios… I'd better make sure he's alright. Now, if only I wasn't so damned weak and could get up!

Avenging

I will avenge him. I will avenge his death. I will cast the ring into the chasm from whence it came, and destroy all evil forever. I will. But I must do it without his help now. I must for he is gone, gone where I cannot, and will not yet go, gone where he cannot return. Oh Gandalf, how I wish I could have done more to save you. They would not let me, Boromir held me back, he had to or I would have ran right up to you, and could have endangered myself and our fellowship further. I know, Boromir's actions were probably sensible. But it hurt so much to see you fall Gandalf, how I wish I could have done something. So far on this quest all I seem to be doing is relying on others. It seems like all I can do is fall, both figuratively and literally. All I seem to be is a burden. They do not realise, but it was me who caused Gandalf's death. For who was it but I who made the choice to go into that cave, that tomb? I am smart, at least for a hobbit, and well-educated, both of my small hobbit world, and, to some extent the outside world, but I could not see. I thought him the least likely to fall out of all of us, honestly. So now we are without our wizard. And I am without my friend and mentor. Oh Gandalf, would that you have lived!

General

An elf meets us in Lothlorien. Haldir is his name, and no one will tell me who he is exactly. Or more like, I don't understand. Matchwarden is what they say. So what in the world does that mean? Obviously he's important, but how so? How should I address him if I have to speak? I think Strider is using the familiar Sindarin "you" with him, but they seem like old friends and besides, they're speaking way too fast for my limited knowledge of Sindarin.

Pippin, always the curious one, just has to ask now doesn't he? And why does he assume I know? "Haldir is a… sort of general." I say to him. "Like, commanding forces and whatnot."

It could be true, and honestly, he trusts me so much to know the answer, I have to say something.

Deer

Lothlorien is the most tranquil place I have ever been in. Rivendell was nice, but full of travellers and people coming and going, the shire is peaceful, but full of chatter and noise, Lothlorien just feels so still. I can't make up my mind as to whether it helps the ache I feel with the absence of Gandalf, through the forest's sense of timelessness, or makes the ache even more pronounced. I am walking through the woods now. I see no one, but I am not naive enough to believe I am alone. Not truly. There is always someone near, whether elf of member of the fellowship, and they believe I do not know. I know they do it for my protection and safety though. Or more like, they follow me for the safety of the item I carry, not me. The other hobbits aren't guarded. But I pretend not to notice.

A deer comes. In the safety of Lothlorien she can wander unguarded, as none here would harm her. It came as a surprise to many of the fellowship that the galadhremmin were vegetarian, but I can see how elves would be loath to harm fellow creatures of the woods. To my surprise the deer comes right up to me, and I see that she is only slightly taller than me. This must be a young deer. And it seems to be the only thing in this fair land that doesn't treat me like I'm about to fall apart. It's strange, I was chosen for the task I have because of my strength, mental more so than physical, but no one seems to consider that. They only see what they expect.

Grand

How would I describe the Argonaths to one who had never seen them? Or what about Rivendell or Lothlorien? Assuming I get back (which, I'm not) I can assume I'm going to be doing quite some story telling. And that brings me back to this, how to tell one who has never seen the wonders I have, or the horrors, what they were like? We saw the Argonaths this morning, great tall statues of men, Aragorn's forefathers he said. They were taller than I had imagined any non-natural thing could be, and seemed to be carved from the rock face itself. The only word that comes to mind to describe them, truly, is grand. So you'll have to use your imagination, as they were much more than that.

Curiosities

We've finished with the boat, Sam and I. Sam's grateful for that, he never liked it, and it was rather hard to row just the two of us when before the big people did most of the rowing, so I guess that's a good thing. But now we have to go on foot, which is so much slower. It's a good thing I studied the maps at Rivendell, so I know about where we're going, but we've still managed to get sidetracked in this mess of a forest way too many times. We've found quite a few curiosities though. Or at least Sam has. Sam can turn the most ordinary things into something extraordinary, and he keeps collecting little "souvenirs" as he calls them. His bag is already so full that it seems utterly foolish to attach more little things to it, but he says he doesn't mind. I can't quite decide if this is endearing or simply stupid, but I don't begrudge him what small pleasure he can find in this godforsaken land.

Distinct

One of the things I love the most about nature is its diversity. I used to marvel at the way one tree or flower would be completely different from another of the same species. Right now Sam and I are outside, which is nature I guess, but not as in birds, flowers and forests. All we can see is rocks, rocks and more rocks. Every morning we wake up, eat breakfast, and continue on our way, but it feels like we are always walking through the same rocks, simply rearranged in slightly different ways. There's nothing distinct, nothing to tell one hour from the next. Sam is quite sure we're going in circles, and honestly, I agree. How in the world are we going to get out of this mess? This isn't how I thought things would go at all. Imagine, the quest failing because we simply got lost! What an end that would be… lost in this sea of rock.

Fierce

I'm ashamed to say, before this quest I thought Sam was quite… simple. Not unintelligent exactly, just rather predictable. He was a friend of mine, sure. He was as interested as I was in Bilbo's stories, especially of tales with elves. But always quite a gentle hobbit. This quest has taught me lots about Samwise Gamgee. I jested once, back before the fellowship even, I believe, when we were on our way to Rivendell with Strider. I forget what exactly Sam had been doing, singing a funny song I think, and I said something along the lignes of; I wonder what we'll discover about Samwise next. Perhaps he will turn out to be a jester, or even a warrior!" We all laughed at the thought of dear gentle Sam as a warrior, and Sam himself declared that nigh on impossible, but now I am seeing another side to Sam. Gollum came upon us tonight, and we were ready for him. We pretended to sleep, but secretly we lay awake, waiting for his approach. I thought this strategy of mine close to foolproof, but I greatly underestimated Gollum's strength and focus on getting his "precious" back. This is where the hidden elf-warrior in Sam comes to play, for as the creature Gollum overthrew me and we grappled for the ring, Samwise the gardener almost full on attacked the creature. He looked… fierce actually. Like a fighter. And while he has many virtues, I did not count on that. I have a feeling that, out of all those on this quest Sam might indeed prove to be the most useful, the most valuable, of all. Who would have thought it.

Worm

Oh how am I ever going to get out of this!? That treacherous snake! That worm! The foul beast! To think that I trusted Gollum to lead us by a safe enough route! I know Sam always mistrusted him, hated him even, but to (almost) quote Sam; I wanted to believe that there was some good in him, and that it was worth fighting for. I am enmeshed in spider web, I have dropped my sword, and no help is coming, not even Sam. I have committed the worst mistake one can make, in mistrusting and sending away a loyal friend. I can only plead that it was Smeag- no, Gollum's, treacherous words and the ring that lead me astray.

Weapon

Use it as a weapon he said. Give it to Gondor he said. Boromir was not stupid but he knew nothing of the ring. I didn't either at the time, despite having carried it thus far. Now I know. It is only now after all we've been through that I realise something. This ring is a weapon, but not in the way we once thought. It contains no ounce of good, of usefulness. We cannot use it, save to destroy it. Somehow though, we got lucky. Sauron made a mistake in tying his life force to the ring, and in the end this was his downfall. Maybe, without knowing it, Boromir was right in some small way. We did use the ring to destroy Sauron- sort of. I hope the others life free and well. I hope Aragorn becomes king, and Merry and Pippin return to the shire, and middle earth is at peace. Even though it is over for me and Sam, I hope the others are still alright.

Cuddle

Our return to Rivendell was a bittersweet one. So much had changed since we last came to the elven city. The four hobbits and I, along with Gandalf came upon the last homely house at sunset yesterday and were greeted most warmly by Lord Elrond, Glorfindel and his Elrond's chief counselor Erestor. The best part about coming back was seeing Bilbo once more. It was rather strange, as he knew little about any of the troubles we had gone through, and places we had been. He didn't treat me like a piece of glass, about to break. He loves me, and has always loved me for who I am, not what I have done. All the commotion in Gondor just made me uncomfortable, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that they thought I was more than I actually was. Everyone seems to forget that I gave in, right when it counted. I failed, and it was pure chance Gollum and the ring fell into the fires. Bilbo didn't know any of that, yet. He treated me just as he always had. I pressed up to him that night, when I got tired, just like I had always done when I was younger. It was a silent plea to be held, to cuddle. I felt I deserved a moment to be a child again. And despite his age Bilbo's arms were as strong and steady as they had always been, a safe haven, protecting me from the outside world. I cuddled with him and his familiar scent and strong arms gave a wordless promise that everything was alright.

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Next chapter: Boromir