A Shadow from the Past
Jessamine gasped as she stared directly at the place where Bilbo had so mysteriously disappeared. Frodo had immediately reached out and started gripping her hand, as if she were some kind of lifeline. She turned to face him and seeing the absolute fear and confusion in his eyes, she returned the pressure drawing his eyes toward hers and offered a small smile. He returned it, albeit weakly, and as she gazed into those gorgeous blue eyes she felt something pass between them. Something she couldn't quite describe, but had been experiencing for a while now almost every time she and Frodo met; and she liked it.
"What do we do Mister Frodo, Miss Jessamine? What's happened to poor Mister Bilbo?" Sam asked bringing her back to the situation at hand, in essence almost ripping her away from Frodo trapped in his own little world of shock.
"I don't know Sam. Search I guess, though I don't see how much use it will be with all of these hobbits running about in a panic." She sighed wincing at the utter chaos that surrounded her; not something you saw every day in the Shire, although pretty much nothing Bilbo did these days could be considered common place.
"Did you see it? What happened?" Mina asked, completely breathless as she ran up to join her friends. Both Sam and Jessa gaped at her in surprise, for she was soaked head to foot, and her beautiful dark curly brown hair was covered in soap suds.
"What in all of Middle-earth happened to you?" They asked in unison, making Mina both laugh and blush at the same time.
"You know that firework from earlier? The really cool dragon one?Well that was us, and for punishment Gandalf made us wash the dishes." She explained as nonchalantly as possible.
"So naturally you just had to start a water fight, huh?" Sam asked rolling his eyes and smiling at his friend who was beaming back at him.
"Pretty much." She agreed, as an equally soaking Ebony and Violet came up behind her.
"Oh it wasn't that big of a deal. Gandalf stopped us before we could have any real fun." Violet said with a wink that made all of them laugh, except for Frodo who seemed frozen in place. The only thing assuring Jessa that he was still alive was the increasing grip on her hand. Suddenly he leapt to his feet and, pulling free from her and all of those around him, went charging up the Hill.
"Now where's he going?" Ebony asked, but Jessamine didn't stick around to listen, rather she took off after him, pushing herself so hard she felt like she was flying to catch up with him. She finally did just that as he reached Bag-End and burst inside crying, "Bilbo! Bilbo!"
They both scanned the room but there was no sign of him, and as Jessa took a step forward in an effort to get a better look she stepped on something cool and round on the threshold. Curious she bent over to pick up a small plain gold ring that sent strange unwelcome shivers through her at a single touch.
"My precious." She heard someone whisper making the awful shivering intensify frightening her into nearly dropping the thing. "Precious…" She looked up and saw Gandalf smoking a pipe over by the fireplace, his brow creased in deep thought.
"He's gone hasn't he? He talked for so long about leaving. I didn't think he'd really do it." Frodo said, his voice sounding the tiniest bit hollow as he walked over to stand beside the wizard; but he didn't look up. He didn't even seem to notice either of them.
"Gandalf?" Jessamine prodded, reaching out to tap him on the shoulder.
"Hm…" He mumbled seeming the tiniest bit startled, but he smiled as soon as he saw their faces staring with concern down at him. That is until he noticed the object in her outstretched hand."Bilbo's Ring. He's gone to stay with the Elves. He's left you Bag End." He told Frodo, whipping out an envelope and opening it up towards Jessamine so she could ever so carefully slip the Ring inside it. The relief was almost instantaneous, yet at the same time she felt the tiniest bit of pain at its parting. She had no idea why. "Along with all of his possessions. The Ring is yours now. Put it somewhere out of sight."
With that Gandalf came to his feet and began gathering his hat and staff. "Where are you going?" Frodo asked not eager to be abandoned twice in the same day.
"There are things that I must see to." Gandalf informed him brusquely as he continued to prepare to leave.
"What things?" Jessamine asked, equally confused and distressed by the Wizards sudden parting.
"Questions. Questions that need answering!"
"But you've only just arrived! I don't understand." Frodo insisted, and he halted just as he was about to walk out the front door. Turning back he gave both of the Hobbits a sympathetic smile, before coming back and putting a hand on both of their shoulders.
Still it was Frodo he looked at as he said, "Neither do I. Keep it secret. Keep it safe." Then he turned to glance at Jessamine and his eyes seemed to echo Bilbo's words from earlier, sending a surge of warmth and nearly overwhelming responsibility over her. And with that, he was like Bilbo.
"Where's he off to in such a hurry?"Violet asked in a huff as she entered the room only a second later, obviously having run into Gandalf on his way out.
"We have no idea." Jessamine admitted smiling as her whole group of friends (Sam, Merry, Pippin, Ebony and Mina) came ever so carefully inside to join them, all looking about the place uncertainly as if unsure what to expect. "But knowing Gandalf it's probably someplace important."
"Is it true then? Is Bilbo really gone?" Mina asked her voice soft, her eyes wide and sad.
"Yes. He's really gone. Off on another one of his adventures. I don't suppose we'll ever see him again." Frodo told her with a matching expression, though his shoulders slumped as well, as if he'd had the weight of the world placed upon them.
"Don't say that Frodo! Of course we will. Someday." She (Jessa) tried to reassure him, taking his hand in hers and giving it a quick squeeze.
"Yeah. We'll just have to go on an adventure of our own to find him." Ebony suggested with a soft but determined smile.
"Yay! We're going on an adventure!" Merry, Pippin and Violet all cheered in unison, making the rest of them laugh.
"Thank you friends, but I'm not sure Bilbo intended for anyone to follow him. Besides we have lives of our own. We can't just up and leave. Not yet anyway." Frodo said but despite his resigned tone, he indeed already looked considerably cheered; as much as could be expected under the circumstances anyway.
"I suppose you're right. But I'll miss him so." Ebony sighed, and her perpetually cheery face started to fall. Seeing this both Mina and Pippin immediately stepped over and put their arms around her.
"Me too." Mina whispered her own voice near the breaking point as she held the younger girl whom she considered as much her little sister as Pippin's. (I think they all did, except for Sam who surprisingly didn't know Ebony very well, and vice versa.) He, Pip, adjusted himself so he was embracing both girls in his arms.
"Would you like us to say here with you tonight, Mr. Frodo? Keep you company and all?" Sam asked speaking up as he noticed the glum looks on all his friends' faces, and each of them nodded their heads in complete agreement, Jessamine in particular smiling at her cousin for his efforts.
"That'd be wonderful Sam. Thank you." Frodo said smiling a little himself, and she could see the gratitude radiating from his eyes.
"Think nothing of it. We're your friends after all, aren't we?" Sam asked turning to look at the whole group who shouted, "Of course!" in response. With that Mina got right to work, going through all the guest bedrooms and with Sam's help gathered the mattresses to place together in the sitting room beside the fireplace, where the rest of the gang was moving the furniture. They had done this numerous times as children, and just as they had then they made sure to divide the room into halves so both the girls and boys could have their own. They were after all upstanding Hobbits who knew the value of propriety.
"Tell us a story Violet. One of Bilbo's. You do remember them right?" Ebony asked once they had all settled in for the night, after a long exhausting day though truth be told none of them were very sleepy.
"Of course she does. Violet's had Bilbo's stories memorized since infancy. Isn't that right?" Merry said winking at his best friend (besides Pippin of course), who only beamed proudly back at him.
"Practically." Mina teased, but Jessa could tell she was also eager to hear one of the stories again.
"Well tell us one now, please. Maybe then it'll be like he never left." Ebony pleaded and at her words it was as if all of them were transported back in time to their old late nights at Bag-End (they were few and far between, which only made them more special) when Bilbo himself would relate the tales of his adventures, often with either one of the girls on his lap while the others gathered round his knee and gazed up at him in awe.
"Sure I'll tell one. If it's alright with Frodo." Violet said clearly not wanting to upset the other hobbit in his time 'grief'.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Frodo agreed a small sad smile spreading across his face as he did so.
"Alright then," Violet began and they all snuggled into their beds as she began the tale that had been so influential on all of them. "In a hole in a ground there lived a Hobbit."
A few weeks had passed and the aching had begun to fade into the need to continue with average everyday life, though it was doubtful any of them felt completely 'cured' of their longing. Still they were all gathered as usual at the Green Dragon where Violet and Rosie worked, the rest relaxing after that particular day's events.
"Hey ho, to the bottle I go!
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow.
But there still be-
Many miles to go!
Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain,
And the stream that falls from hill to plain.
Better than rain or rippling brook"- Merry and Pippin sang as they danced around on top of one of the tables, before Pippin finished off with his 'incredible' solo."Is a mug of beer inside this Took!" Jessamine and Mina laughed together at their friends antics, while Ebony continued to dance around the tables on the ground as if she were completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Many a lad tried to step in and join with her (Richard Grubb being the foremost of them all) but to their great frustration she was somehow always able to spin just out of their reach.
"Come on Pip. Why don't you join your sister, and show us what some real dancing is." Violet teased even as she handed both boys another mug of ale, making everyone laugh.
"That was real dancing!" Merry protested stiffly. "There is nothing more real and sophisticated as a Hobbits drinking jig. What more could you want?"
"I don't know, but whatever Ebony's doing looks pretty interesting to me. Why don't you go try it, unless you're too scared." She replied, and that immediately got both boys attention.
"Merry and I aren't scared of anything. Come on Ebony, let's show her." Pip called as he skillfully caught his sister and twirled her around, beginning a complicated dance that none of the hobbits had ever seen before, making them cheer all the louder.
"Of course not. Mina come on, you be my partner." Merry insisted, and before she could even protest the two were out in the middle of the floor twirling about, albeit a little less gracefully than their friends. Now it was Violets and Jessamine's turn to laugh, before Violet handed Jessa her signature cup of hot cocoa (it was what all of the girls preferred to drink, especially seeing as they were usually the ones responsible for making sure the boys made it home alright) and headed back to work.
She (Jessa) went to sit down besides Sam, his father the Old Gaffer, Mina's grandpa the Old Noakes, and the Sandyman who she found to be having a serious conversation. Well the latter three were anyway. Sam was far too busy watching Rosie (who of course was smiling back at him, much to Violet's dismay) to pay them any real attention.
"Samwise Gamgee, hasn't anyone ever told you it's impolite to stare?" She whispered in his ear, nearly making him jump out of his seat before blushing bright red as he grinned sheepishly at her. She giggled in response, until her Uncles' grim tone caught her attention.
"There's been some strange folk crossing the Shire. Dwarves, and others of a less than savory nature." The Gaffer said his brow creased with distrust and concern.
"War is brewing. The mountains are fair teeming with goblins." The Old Noakes agreed in his own solemn distasteful tone.
"Far-off tales and children's stories, that's all that is. You're beginning to sound like that old Bilbo Baggins. Cracked, he was." The Sandyman scoffed, and it was all Jessa could do to keep from yelling at him.
"Young Mr. Frodo, here, he's cracking." Gaffer commented laughing as he nodded at the young Hobbit in question as he headed their way carrying a couple of mugs in his hands.
"And proud of it! Cheers, Gaffer!" Frodo declared good naturedly as he sat across from her and handed out the drinks. She couldn't help but grin at the way he was so proud of his heritage. Their eyes met for a long moment, and he beamed back at her until Sam leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Jessamine Greenhand, hasn't anyone ever told you it's impolite to stare?"
Blushing furiously she quickly glanced away, but not before a wonderful feeling she couldn't quite describe seemed to fill her whole body with warmth, that not even the Sandyman's next comment could wipe away. "Well it's none of our concern what goes on beyond our borders. Keep your nose out of trouble and no trouble'll come to you."
Later that night Violet walked Jessamine, Frodo, Sam and Mina out the door after most of the other patrons (including Merry and Pippin, under Ebony's insistence) had already gone. Rosie of course was already standing there as she did practically every night. "Goodnight, lads, and ladies." She told them in her sugary sweet tone, that fairly made Violet bristle especially as she saw Sam smile shyly back at her.
"Goodnight." He managed to choke out as they passed, and the three other Hobbits all gave each other knowing looks, which only made Violet more mad.
"I'll be back in a second Rosie, I'm just going to walk them to the road." She said briskly, not even bothering to look at her sister's face as she hurried them on.
"Goodnight, sweet maiden of the Golden Ale!" They heard a very drunk Hobbit say behind them, and when she turned she could see that he had gotten down on one knee to do it. For the briefest of seconds Violet wondered if any Hobbit lad could show such affection for her, but she shoved it away just as quickly. Such thinking was pointless, and besides the boy was drunk. It had no meaning whatsoever.
"Mind who you're sweet talking." Sam growled, equally disturbed by the action though for completely different reasons.
"Don't worry, Sam. Rosie knows an idiot when she sees one." Frodo assured him.
"Does she?" He asked smiling uncertainly, in a way that only made Violets heart break all the more.
"Sadly, yes." She whispered almost silently under her breath, before continuing aloud."Goodnight Sam. Frodo, Jessa, Mina. I'll see you tomorrow." And with a farewell hug for each of them, she sprinted back to the Inn to finish up work for the night.
The rest of the tired hobbits continued on their way, talking and laughing amongst themselves until they finally reached Bag-End and they all paused none of them really wanting to go home despite their fatigue. "Oh! Jessa I finished the book you let me borrow. Do you want to come get it now?" Frodo suddenly asked his face hopeful.
"I don't know. I was going to make sure Sam got home alright, seeing his present condition…." Jessa hesitated looking at her, well slightly drunk cousin with a skeptical eye.
"Don't worry, I'll help him." Mina offered grinning mischievously at the other girl, even as she took Sam's arm in her own so as to 'properly' escort him. "We'll get there eventually won't we Sam?"
"Yes, don't worry about me Jessamine. I'll be alright." Sam agreed shrugging off her concerns and gripping tightly to Mina the way they used to when they were younger and running around the Shire together.
"But shouldn't you be heading back to Bywater Mina? You've already come with us this far, and it's getting late. What'll your Grandfather say?" Jessa asked, knowing the Old Noakes was extremely protective of Mina, seeing as her mother had died in childbirth, and as a result she and her father (who had become quite sullen after the tragedy) had lived with him as long as anyone could remember.
"Oh I'll be fine. It's not that far, and I've walked this road at least a million times and never been stopped once. Papa and Grandpa won't worry a bit." She replied in the same casual tone, though she was touched by her friends concern.
"Okay. Well goodnight then." Jessa reluctantly gave in smiling cheerily at the two as they waved and began to continue on their way.
"Yes, Goodnight Sam, Mina!" Frodo called after them.
"Goodnight!" They called in return without even a backward glance. Laughing softly to themselves both Frodo and Jessa walked up the path and into the lovely hobbit hole. Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed both of them by the shoulders yanking them around and the two found themselves staring into the face of a disheveled wild old man.
"Is it secret? Is it safe?" He asked his voice matching his appearance.
"Ah!"Jessamine screamed jumping backwards until Frodo caught her and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Relax Jessa. It's only Gandalf." He assured her, and after taking a closer look she realized that he was right. But still there was a gleam in his eyes that she did not altogether like, and she had no idea why.
"The Ring Frodo. Quickly! Bring me the Ring!" Gandalf pressed in the same urgent tone, not even bothering to confirm his identity. Frodo immediately let go of Jessamine and rushed to do as he was asked, opening one of the chests in the hall and tearing through it, tossing out scrolls and various other objects, before finally laying hands on the one he was looking for.
"A ha!" He declared, holding the envelope up to Gandalf. Without a single word the wizard snatched it up and tossed it directly into the fire in one swift motion. "What are you doing?" Both Frodo and Jessa cried in alarm as they watched the envelope being consumed in the flames and the Ring beginning to almost glow inside.
Once again Jessamine found herself consumed with strange tingles at the sight of it, though they were not nearly as bad as the shivers that had coursed through her when she'd held it. Gandalf heedless to either of the hobbits distress, grabbed a pair of tongs and picked the object up ever so carefully pulling it from the blaze."Hold out your hand Frodo, it's quite cool." He said even as he dropped the Ring into Frodo's outstretched hand."What can you see? Can you see anything?"
"Nothing. There's nothing." Frodo said as he turned it over between his fingers, studying it curiously.
"Wait. There are markings." Jessamine corrected him as she reached to point them out, instantly retracting her hand as she received a sudden shock at her touch.
"Oh yes, I see them now. But it's some sort of Elvish. I can't read it." Frodo agreed, squinting his eyes as if perhaps with enough concentration he might be able to figure it out.
"There are few who can. The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here." Gandalf told them his voice grim.
"Mordor?"Frodo breathed his face masking the same disbelief she could feel growing in her own heart.
"In the common tongue it says, 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.'"Gandalf continued, and a heavy silence filled the room.
"Well why don't I make some tea, and we can all sit in some comfort while Gandalf explains exactly what's going on." Jessamine finally suggested breaking through the tension, and the both Gandalf and Frodo eagerly agreed.
"This is the One Ring. Forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. Taken by Isildur form the hand of Sauron himself."
"Bilbo found it. In Gollums cave."Jessa murmured as she set the cups of tea down on the table in front of them and stared at the offending object with the same morbid fascination.
"Yes. For sixty years the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age. But no longer Frodo. Evil is stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard it's master's call." Gandalf said his voice deadly serious.
"But he was destroyed! Sauron was destroyed!" Frodo insisted seeming on the edge of hysteria, and who could blame him?
"No, Frodo. The Spirit of Sauron endured. His life force is bound to the Ring, and the Ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied. His fortress at Barad-Dûr is rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron need only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness. He is seeking it, seeking it. All his thought is bent on it. The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord. Frodo, he must never find it."
"Alright, we put it away. We keep it hidden. We never speak of it again. No one knows it's here, do they?" Frodo decided snatching the Ring up and rushing to look for a place to hide it; that is until he noticed the wizard's silence. "Do they Gandalf?"
"There is one other who knew that Bilbo had the Ring. I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum. But the enemy found him first." He admitted grudgingly, the worry and concern showing blatantly on his face. "I don't know how long they tortured him. But amidst the endless screams and insane babble, they discerned two words. Shire. Baggins."
"Shire. Baggins. But that would lead them here!" Frodo realized his eyes widening with a panic that urged Jessamine to say the most profound words of the entire night.
"Uh oh."
"Take it Gandalf! Take it!" Frodo held the Ring out to him.
"No Frodo." He refused it stiffly.
"You must take it!" Frodo insisted.
"You cannot offer me this Ring!"
"I'm giving it to you!"
"Don't tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand Frodo, I would use this Ring from a desire to do good. But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine." Gandalf's voice became even more earnest than before, and the distress in his eyes was almost more than any of them could take.
"But it cannot stay in the Shire!" Jessamine pointed out, her own apprehension beginning to get the best of her.
"No! No it can't." Gandalf agreed as he gave Frodo a knowing look. The young hobbit seemed to stare back at the wizard for a long time, before his jaw set with determination and he closed his hand around the Ring.
"What must I do?" He asked solemnly.
"You must leave, and leave quickly." Was the equally solemn reply.
"Leave!" Jessa gasped gaping back and forth between the two of them, trying to gage their seriousness, but they were already off. Frodo had grabbed one of his bags from his room and was stuffing clothes into it, while Gandalf rummaged for other supplies.
"Where? Where do I go?" Frodo asked, never once looking up from his task.
"Get out of the Shire. Make for the village Bree." Gandalf decided, equally determined to help his young friend now that the decision was made.
"Wait what?" Jessa continued to fumble as she helplessly watched them pack, dread spreading clear through her as she thought of what it would be like if Frodo really were to leave her. How would she survive?
"Bree. What about you?" Frodo asked the wizard, finally risking a quick glance in his direction, though it was obvious he was avoiding her gaze completely.
"I'll be waiting for you, at the Inn of the Prancing Pony." He replied.
"Gandalf! Frodo!" She yelled at them one last time, stamping her foot at their rude behavior.
"And the Ring will be safe there?" Frodo continued to ignore her, so with a glare she rushed from the room fueled by a personal determination as she came to a decision of her own.
"I don't know Frodo. I don't have any answers. I must see the head of my order. He is both wise and powerful. Trust me Frodo, he'll know what to do. You'll have to leave the name of Baggins behind you, for that name is not safe outside the Shire. Travel only by day. And stay off the road." Gandalf helped Frodo put on his cloak.
"I can cut across country easily enough." He assured the Wizard as he quietly slipped the Ring into his pocket and turned to face him, as ready for the journey ahead as he ever would be.
"You mean we can." Jessamine corrected stepping into the room with her own bag and cloak upon her back. (The girls had, upon Mina's insistence, hidden a stash of supplies in case any such chance for an adventure should ever really arise.)
"We?" Both boys protested immediately staring at her in utter shock, though Frodo seemed much less surprised than Gandalf.
"You honestly didn't think you were leaving me behind did you?" She asked smirking at her long time best friend and confidante.
"But Jessamine, what about your family and Sam?" He asked brow creased with concern.
"They can get along well enough without me. At least until we can figure out what to do with the Ring and return." She insisted, shrugging off the matter as nonchalantly as she could.
"It will be a very dangerous journey, Jessamine. Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" Gandalf warned forcing her to meet his gaze which she did so steadily.
"Yes. I'm absolutely sure." She said without even the tiniest quaver in her voice, before she went on to settle the matter. "If Frodo's leaving I'm going with him, and that's final."
"My dear friends. Hobbits really are amazing creatures! You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years, they can still surprise you." Gandalf sighed and they all beamed at one another until suddenly they heard rustling coming from just outside the window. "Get down!" He cried, and both Jessa and Frodo hit the ground as they waited to see what horrific intruder could be lurking just outside Bag-End.
"Oh periwinkle. I left my sack at Bag-End when I was cleaning earlier. Would you mind if we went back to fetch it Sam? It should only take a second." Mina asked as she brought the two of them to a sudden halt after they had almost reached Sam's house (it really wasn't that far away) and she remembered her pack. "It has all my tools, and I have the morning shift at the mill tomorrow. I can't risk not getting there on time, or going without them. Please."
"Of course, I don't mind. It's a lovely night." He reassured her and the two of them headed back the way they had just come until the stood in front of the newly lit up hobbit hole.
"Thanks, you can wait here, I should really only be a second…." She began before Sam tightened his grip on her arm a strange look of concentration coming over his face.
"Sh… Do you hear that?" He asked, and falling silent she strained herself to listen. Sure enough familiar raised voices began to drift out of Bag-End.
"Yes. It sounds like…"
"Gandalf!" They finished together, before rushing forward to hide underneath one of the open windows to listen in. (Of course it was the same conversation of which you have already been a party to, so I as the author will not bore you with it again.) Mina was so alarmed by what she heard that she accidentally leaned a little too far forward and tumbled into the flower bed in front of her creating a semi loud rustling sound.
Before either hobbit could make a single move, a staff poked through the window and smacked Sam right on the head. "Ooph!" He moaned just as they were grabbed by front of their shirts and dragged into the room, thrown onto the nearest table and found themselves staring up into the unforgiving face of their dear but powerful friend.
"Confound it all Samwise Gamgee, and Aquamarine Noakes. Have you two been eavesdropping?" Gandalf accused glaring at both of the shivering hobbits.
"I haven't dropped no eaves sir, honest. I was just cutting the grass under the window there, if you follow me." Sam protested, doing his best not to fumble under the pressure.
"And I was helping him!" Mina agreed, grasping onto the excuse for all she was worth.
"A little late for trimming the verge, don't you think?" He asked skeptically, and Mina could tell he didn't believe them, but still she had to try.
"Really? Oh so it is. Ha! I wondered why it seemed awfully dark, but we were so focused we hardly after all it is just such a lovely night, and the air is absolutely… crisp. Perfect for gardening…" Mina stammered into silence under his stern glower, doing her best to hide beside Sam who was equally intimidated.
"We heard raised voices." He finally admitted after what felt like a long moment, but was probably only a millisecond or two.
"What did you hear? Speak!" Gandalf demanded.
"N-n-n-nothing important. That is I heard a good deal about a Ring and something about the end of the world but… Please Mister Gandalf sir, don't hurt us. Don't turn us into anything…."
"Unnatural." Mina finished with him, and the two huddled together as if to try and offer as much protection as they could from whatever Gandalf's punishment might be.
"No?" Gandalf asked, as a sudden idea seemed to light up in his eyes, and Mina noticed both Jessamine and Frodo for the first time out of the corner of her eye, staring at the two of them in disbelief. "Perhaps not. I have thought of a better use for you two."
Hi! I guess this goes without saying, but the content of the story will be following the timeline of the movie more closely than the book, unfortunately, in order to speed things up. As you can also probably tell, this is my first time publishing any of my own fanfiction, and I am extremely nervous about the result. I love writing, and I love Lord of the Rings, and I am very excited to share this story with others. Thanks for your consideration and your patience. Let me know what you think!
-Jewel Serenade
Disclaimer: With the exception of a few OC's (Jessamine Greenhand, Violet Cotton, Aquamarine Noakes, and Ebony Took), all of the characters belong to the genius writer, and my inspiration, J.R.R. Tolkien.