Hey! Okay, this chapter is relatively long.

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Chapter 8: The Fellowship of the Ring

"WHY can't I go?" Robin whined.

"Because you weren't invited," Kayden explained for what seemed to be the millionth time. She looked herself over in the mirror, straightening her pale blue tunic and brushing out her dark hair.

"You ready to go?" Peyton asked. Kayden nodded, and the two made their way to the council. Peyton's long, sweeping dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and swung merrily over her forest green tunic. Robin sighed. She really wanted to go to the council.

"Hey, Robin!" Robin whirled around to see Merry and Pippin skipping towards her. "We're going to eavesdrop on the council. You wanna come?" they asked.

Robin eagerly nodded her head. "Yeah!"

"Great! Sam's going to go with us. Come on!" The three of them eagerly raced to the terrace where the council was being held.

~o*o*o*o~

Peyton turned towards Frodo's quarters. She had grown quite fond of the little hobbit. "Hey, Frodo," she greeted. "Are you ready?"

Frodo nodded and gulped nervously. "It'll be great," she reassured him. A man clothed in gray robes met them as they turned the corner. "Hi Gandalf!" Peyton smiled. Frodo had introduced her to the wizard just yesterday.

"Greetings, Peyton," Gandalf said calmly as the three of them walked to the council terrace.

~o*o*o*o~

"Aragorn!" Kayden called as she saw the Ranger heading towards the council. Aragorn whipped around, then smiled to see it was her. "Are you ready for the council?" she asked.

Aragorn looked at her in surprise. "I did not know you were invited."

Kayden nodded her head. The two of them walked together to the council. "I really like it here in Rivendell. Everything is so beautiful"

Aragorn smiled. "I was raised in Rivendell for a time."

"Why?" Kayden asked, out of pure curiousity.

"My father was killed by orcs. Fearing the same fate befalling me, my mother took me to Rivendell, and Lord Elrond became my foster father."

"That would explain why you call Lord Elrond Ada sometimes."

Aragorn chuckled before continuing. "When I was twenty, Ada told me of my heritage, and I left Rivendell to live with the Dunedain, the Rangers." Kayden nodded her head in understanding.

"Aragorn," a voice called. An elf stepped around a corner, his long blonde hair sweeping over his silver robes.

"Legolas," Aragorn grinned, going over and embracing his friend.

Legolas turned to Kayden. "And who is your companion?"

"This is Kayden," Aragorn introduced. "I met her on the road to Bree, where I was meeting Frodo. Kayden, this is Legolas, an Elven prince of the Woodland Realm."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kayden." Legolas reached out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." Kayden took Legolas's hand and shook it. "And please, no formalities."

"Very well, Kayden," Legolas responded. The three of them reached the terrace where the council was being held. Legolas took his seat with the other elves. Kayden took her seat next to Aragorn. She noticed Peyton sitting next to Frodo and Gandalf. Peyton waved to her excitedly. Kayden smiled and returned the wave just as the council began.

"Strangers of a distant land, friends of old. You have been summoned here answer the threat of Mordor," Elrond began. "Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bond to this fate, this one doom." Elrond paused and gazed towards Frodo, gesturing to the pedestal in the middle of the circle of chairs. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo!"

Frodo slowly stood and walked to the plinth, placing the Ring upon it for all to see. Immediately, murmurs erupted among the council members. "So it is true," a man with dusty blonde hair whispered, loud enough for Kayden and Aragorn to hear. They shared a glance before turning their attention back to Frodo, who had now taken his seat. Peyton gave him a reassuring smile.

The man Kayden had heard before suddenly stood up and began to address the council. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark," he informed them, inching his way toward the plinth. "But in the West, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, `Your doom is near at hand.' Isildur's bane is found." The man began reaching for the Ring. "Isildur's bane…"

"Boromir!" Elrond cried, but his voice was drowned out by Gandalf's.

"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul," he chanted. As he spoke, the sky appeared to grow dark. One of the dwarves yelped, and Boromir backed into his seat. Peyton glanced over at Kayden, who was gripping the arms of her chair tightly and wincing as if something was hurting her.

Finally, Gandalf stopped. The sky cleared again, and Kayden finally relaxed. White-hot pain burned through her at the sound of the words. "Are you alright?" Peyton mouthed. Kayden merely shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to Elrond.

"Never before has anyone uttered word of that tongue here in Imladris," Elrond stated angrily.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the west!" Gandalf apologized, his tone steadily growing louder. "The Ring is altogether evil!"

"But it is a gift," Boromir stood, a light in his eyes. "Why not use this Ring?" he suggested. "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people, are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy! Let us use it against him!"

Aragorn suddenly spoke up. "You cannot wield it. None of us can." Boromir turned towards him. "The Ring answers to Sauron alone," Aragorn explained. "It has no other master."

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir scathed.

Legolas suddenly stood up. "This is no mere Ranger," he reprimanded. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

"Aragorn," Boromir gasped, amazed. "This is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," Legolas finished. Peyton looked at Strider, her mouth forming a perfect O. Kayden shot Aragorn a surprised yet pleased glance, a smile playing on her lips. Frodo gawked at Strider, trying to process what he had just learned.

"Sit down, Legolas," Aragorn commanded in Elvish.

Boromir turned and looked at Legolas. "Gondor has no king," he scoffed. "Gondor needs no king." He returned to his seat, glaring at Aragorn.

"Aragorn's right," Kayden spoke up, looking around at the council members. "We can't use it."

"You have only one choice," Elrond informed them. "The Ring must be destroyed." Silence followed his statement.

"What are we waiting for?" a dwarf with a bushy auburn beard remarked, springing out of his seat and swing his axe down on the plinth with a loud cry. He was thrown back, the axe blade shattered and the Ring still clean and whole.

"Wow," Peyton murmured under her breath.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess." Elrond paused before continuing. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade." Silence met his remark. "It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you…must do this."

Silence.

"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the great Eye is ever watchful. 'Tis a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir paused before continuing his quiet rant. "Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

Legolas jumped out of his seat again. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!" Gimli shouted.

"And if we fail, what then?" Boromir stood up as well. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

Gimli now sprang to his feet. "I will dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" This caused the elves to jump up and start arguing.

"Elves and dwarves don't like each other, do they?" Kayden quietly asked Aragorn, who shook his head. The men and dwarves had also stood up and joined the verbal battle. Peyton let out a groan as Gandalf left his seat and entered the fray as well.

"All this over who gets to take an evil Ring into a very dangerous and dark land?" Robin asked from her hiding place. Merry and Pippin shrugged their shoulders and continued to watch the fight.

Suddenly, Kayden and Peyton heard a small voice yell, "I will take it!" Unfortunately, Kayden and Peyton were the only ones that heard the small voice, and Peyton only heard it because it came from the hobbit right next to her.

"I will take it!" Frodo repeated, louder this time. Everyone turned towards the small hobbit. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." All the elves, dwarves, men, wizard, and even the hobbits hiding in the bushes stared at him in disbelief. "Though," he continued quietly, "I do not know the way."

Gandalf walked towards Frodo's side. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn, who was still seated, now stood up. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will," he declared, kneeling in front of the small hobbit. "You have my sword."

"And mine as well." Peyton jumped as Kayden rose from her seat and walked towards Frodo. "I know you can do it," Kayden whispered as she passed the hobbit and stood next to Aragorn.

"And you have my bow," Legolas announced, stepping forward.

Gimli followed suit. "And my axe!" he added.

Boromir stared at the six of them. "You carry the fate of us all little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done." He joined the others standing by the brave hobbit.

Peyton now stood up. "I've been with you since I met you in the Shire," she stated, "and I am not leaving you now." She walked to Kayden's side, the two sharing a high five.

"HEY!" a voice shouted. Sam rushed out of the bushes to Frodo's side. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me!"

An amused look passed over Elrond's face. "No indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you two, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not." Sam looked abashedly at the floor while Peyton and Kayden tried to stifle their giggles.

"OI! We're coming too!" Merry, Pippin, and Robin rushed out of their hiding spots, much to the surprise of Elrond.

"You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us," Merry yelled.

"And there's no way Kayden and Peyton are going without me," Robin added.

"Yes, what would we do without your craziness," Kayden whispered.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission…quest…thing," Pippin explained.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," Merry stated plainly as Elrond observed the company surrounding Frodo.

"Twelve companions…so be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!" Elrond proclaimed.

Pippin almost glowed with excitement. "Great!" He paused before continuing, "Where are we going?"

All three girls facepalmed.

~o*o*o*o~

With the formation of the Fellowship, the council was soon over. The Fellowship members were all very excited and were already making plans for the journey. Kayden, Peyton, Merry, Pippin, and Robin were walking together.

"I hope there will be enough food," Pippin wondered.

Peyton laughed. "Trust a hobbit to first think about the food."

"Lady Kayden! Lady Peyton!" Kayden turned around to see Glofindel calling them. The two said their goodbyes to the hobbits and walked over to the elf. "I have heard that you two have agreed to accompany the hobbit on his journey to Mordor," he stated. Kayden and Peyton nodded their heads in agreement. "If you are indeed going, Peyton, you need to be armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. Kayden, I would advise you to get another weapon beside Veryan, as a precaution. Knowing your fighting style, I would reccomend another sword similar to Veryan." He then left with Peyton to find her a bow.

Kayden stopped and thought about Glorfindel's advice. "Another sword…" she mused.

~o*o*o*o~

A few days later, Kayden awoke excitedly to the sunrise. Today the Fellowship was departing Rivendell. Quickly, she dressed in her Ranger clothes and buckled her pack and Veryan around her waist. Upon taking Glorfindel's suggestion, she had looked through the armory and had found a sword exactly the same as Veryan, but with silvery-white leather wrappings around the hilt. With Arwen's help, she had named it Brethil. It now lay strapped across her back, much like a quiver of arrows.

A knock was heard at the door, with Peyton waiting on the other side. She wore her traveling clothes as well, the same clothes she came to Middle-Earth in. Around her waist were her pack and the dagger Aragorn had given her on Amon Sûl. In addition, she now carried an elven bow made of chestnut wood and a dark leather quiver filled with arrows. "You ready?" she asked.

Kayden nodded, and together, the two headed down to the courtyard, where Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir were waiting. They were shortly joined by Merry, Pippin, Robin, Frodo, and Sam, the latter leading the baggage-pony Bill.

Once they had all assembled, Elrond approached them. "The Ringbearer is setting out on the quest of Mount Doom," he announced. "And you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will. Farewell. Hold to your purpose, and may the blessings of Elves, Men, and all free folk go with you."

"The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer," Gandalf declared. Frodo uneasily turned around and began walking out of the courtyard.

"Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?" the hobbit quietly asked, coming to a choice of paths.

Gandalf smiled. "Left," he replied.

Peyton turned to look at Kayden and Robin. "You guys ready for the adventure of our lives?" she asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be," the elf and the hobbit chorused. This was going to be one journey they would never forget.

In case you're wondering, the Black Speech of Mordor causes Elves physical pain. Correct me if I'm wrong.

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