Chapter Three

'This house is so cute.' Sasha said, stooping to avoid banging her head on the ceiling. 'Everything is so small. It's like kindergarten.'

'Hobbits have the best food.' Amanda said, biting into a roll of bread. 'This is delicious.'

Pippin smiled cheerfully. 'Glad you like it. When you're done, do you want to go walk around?'

'Sure.' Amanda said, stuffing the rest of the bread into her mouth. 'I'm ready.'

'This is a nice forest.' Amanda said, tracing her fingers along a group of leaves.

'Hey, what's that?' Sasha said. 'It looks like a cave.'

Pippin came over. 'You're right.'

Sasha started running. 'Come on, let's go in!' Pippin ran after her.

'Wait!' Amanda called. 'It looks… dangerous…' She hesitated for a minute. She couldn't let them go on their own… 'Wait for me!'

They soon reached the cave. Sasha and Pippin charged in without hesitation. Amanda followed slowly after them.

'Are you sure?' She said, her voice echoing eerily off the walls.

'It's fine.' Pippin said from up ahead. 'The caves are very straight. We can go back just the same way we came in.'

'Okay.' Amanda tried so summon her courage. This was not a good place for someone with a fear of caves.

They went deeper and deeper into the stone caverns. The ceiling sloped down until Amanda and Sasha almost had to duck.

Sasha suddenly tripped, just managing to throw her hands in front of her before she smacked her face on the ground.

'Whoa, what happened?' Amanda said, helping her up.

'I'm not sure.' Sasha said, brushing little rocks off her hands. 'I felt something hard.' She felt around. 'Aha! Here, this is what I tripped over.'

It was an amulet. It had a simple gold chain, with a golden disk as a pendant. The disk was plain, with nothing on it.

'It's pretty, I guess.' Sasha said, turning it over in her hand. She shrugged, and put it around her neck. Amanda noticed she took a slight step back, as if something had startled her. But within a moment it was gone.

'Come on, let's head out.' Sasha said. 'I don't think there's anything else to see.' She started walking back the way they had come.

Amanda fell back beside Pippin. 'Did you notice anything… different about her?' She said.

Pippin looked thoughtful. 'Now that you mention it, yes. And that necklace is weird… let's keep an eye on her.'

He started walking again. Amanda bit her lip. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

'Sasha?' Amanda called.

Sasha stuck her head out from behind a tree. 'Yes?' She said, almost too innocently.

'Where were you?'

'Nowhere.' Her eyes flicked up to the sky, like a child might when caught stealing cookies.

Amanda frowned. She was sure something was wrong. Sasha wasn't usually like this.

'Gandalf!' Pippin cried, racing down the lane to greet the old wizard.

Amanda hung back, shy. 'Hi.'

Gandalf blew smoke from his pipe. 'Hello, young hobbit. And hello, Amanda. It's good to see you again.'

Amanda waved. 'Sasha, come say hi.' She said.

Sasha stared at Gandalf with a cold gaze. 'Hi.' She muttered.

Gandalf's face became troubled. He beckoned Pippin and Amanda closer. 'That necklace.' He said, his voice low and urgent. 'Where did she get it, and how long has she had it?'

Amanda glanced at Pippin. 'She found it in a cave. She's been wearing it for… maybe… 24 hours?'

Gandalf sighed, running a hand along his beard. 'That necklace is cursed. I believe she's under the influence of Sauron.'

Pippin gaped. 'How do you know?'

'I don't. But I've seen that look in her eyes before.'

'Wait, wait, wait.' Amanda said. 'Sauron was defeated when the one ring was destroyed. How can he possibly be back?'

Gandalf shook his head. 'I do not know for sure. But I have a theory. Once, in my younger days, I found an ancient scroll. It told of a sorceress by the name of Morgana Le Fay-'

'Morgana Le Fay is from King Arthur.' Amanda interrupted. 'Why is she mentioned in Middle-Earth?'

'She is a powerful sorceress.' Gandalf said. 'She likely had the power to go between dimensions. Now, the scroll also revealed that Morgana had worked with Sauron to develop his ring. She, however, believed it was foolish to contain all his power in a single object. So she made a second talisman, containing a small fraction of his power. If Sauron was ever defeated, she enchanted the object to appear somewhere in Middle-Earth.'

'So…' Pippin said slowly. 'You think Sasha picked up this object, and when she put it on, Sauron took control of her?'

Gandalf nodded. 'Because only a little of his power is in the necklace, he likely is taking over her body in small stages. But humans do not have the resilience of hobbits. Have either of you noticed Sasha behaving strangely?'

'Yes.' Amanda said, a feeling of despair washing over her. 'She's been very snappish and angry for no apparent reason, and sometimes she disappears for a couple minutes.'

'We must get the necklace off her at once.' Gandalf said decisively. 'As soon as possible, before Sauron can eat away more of her will.'

Amanda turned around, looking for the familiar face of her friend.

'She's gone!'

Next Chapter Out By: 11/11/2015