The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 7: One Ring to Rule Them All

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Disclaimer: I sadly do not own The Lord of the Rings franchise. I only own the story, Lin and Neera who tells the story.

It has been two months and a half since Lin and Grandfather left me behind in the Shire. Frodo and I still haven't heard anything from them, which worried me. They immediately left after Bilbo's birthday party without giving me an honest answer as to why. I had been separated from Grandfather for months and sometimes even years on end, so his absence was usual to me. But for my sister, who never left my side under any circumstances, her absence was very unusual and there were times when the separation from her became too much to bare at times. It also caused me to miss Father terribly as well, as I had never been away from him before, which made this whole experience of staying in a foreign land both thrilling, but also very terrifying.

But even though I had been separated from my family, not all was bad. In fact, none of it was bad at all. That was because I was with Frodo.

While he and I missed our families respectively, we found comfort and happiness in the other. As I had to stay there for a time, we had to figure out a way for me to sleep in the hobbit hole. Obviously, Bilbo's old bed was far too small for me. We managed to make me a makeshift bed for me in front of the fireplace. Frodo often asked me if I would prefer a better bed, but I always refused as being near the fire reminded me of my room at home and it was near the door in case I needed to grab my bow and arrows and defend us. It felt so strange calling this place home, even if it was for a short while. It actually was really comfortable and warm. Thankfully, I wasn't as tall as Grandfather and so walking through the rooms was easier for me. There were days when I would stay there while Frodo was away and I would just discover more and more things that I absolutely loved about it. Sometimes Frodo and I would stay up late in the night talking away in front of the fire place. Sometimes, he even fell asleep before I did.

My presence was not welcomed by a lot of people, as Hobbits were not too keen on outsiders or adventurers. I was reminded of this every time Frodo insisted that we walk through town together. I always felt the angry glares of the young Hobbit women and I still didn't understand why. There were times when they would ridicule me, very softly so no one could hear them, but I still did. It wasn't until one girl spoke a little too loud enough that Frodo heard it, turned around as if outraged, and scolded the poor girl. I didn't know how to react to that. He told them that if anyone had a problem with me that they would also have a problem with him. All I knew at that point was my racing heart and swarming happiness throughout my entire being. These were two sensations that were very unfamiliar to me and while I still didn't know why I was having them whenever I was with Frodo, (which was quite often,) but after a while, I grew not to care. I also began to ignore the glares of people when Frodo and I went into town for whatever reason. As long as Frodo believed in me and respected me, that strangely was enough.

Of course, I'm being rather cynical about the other Hobbits. Not all of them were as cruel as those that made their opposition to me very known. There were some people who accepted my being in town like Samwise and two others by the names of Merry and Pippin, who almost blew up the whole birthday party as a result of their meddling with Grandfather's fireworks. There were times when they would visit the house and we would all stay up late and talk and laugh and Merry and Pippin would entertain us with their singing. Most of the time, this was the only time I would see Frodo's friends, as after a while of being in town made me extremely uncomfortable with the other people. Although Frodo would often try to convince me that I was his guest and that I had a right to be in town, I knew that I would probably be better off where no one would judge me and him being together. Sam and the two rascals felt as though if Frodo liked me, that they should as well. But most of the time, when Frodo went off to town for the day or for the night, I would typically stay home. I often felt incredibly lonely without him and as soon as he left, I strangely felt very sad. I often counted the hours before he would come home. When he did, all of that strange loneliness and sadness would melt away, and we would resume where we picked off.

While there were days when I was alone at Bag End, we often spent most days together, whether it was Frodo showing me more of the Shire and its people, whether we be off in the woods exploring, talking, me showing him the basics of using a bow. Yes, that's correct. One day as we were walking through the woods together, Frodo actually asked me if I could teach him how to fire an arrow. Most people ridiculed it, saying that I was going to get Frodo or someone else hurt. But to my surprise, no matter how difficult it was for him, Frodo never gave up. He did get injured one time because of a mistake he made, but he never made it again. It took him many tries, but he actually started to hit a lot of the targets that I had set up for him. I had to be careful not to use too much of my power while firing an arrow as a demonstration. But that's a story for another time.

But my favorite part of our days together had to have been where we went to Frodo's favorite part of the woods to read, talk, watch the sunset, and just enjoy each other's company. Sometimes we would just talk for so long that we didn't even notice time passing by. There were nights when we would talk until the stars came out and we would just look up at the sky, admire the stars and just continue talking. I had never enjoyed another person's company like this before. He made me laugh and smile more than anyone before. We would often lie next to each other on the ground and just look up at the stars. There were also times during these moments when he would reach out and grab my hand and while it still felt strange, I allowed it. I actually liked his warmth combining with my own, it made my heart race. Sometimes we even fell asleep there in that grassy area and woke up and watched the sun come up together.

As the days went by, the closer we became. The bond we formed on the day we first met only strengthened each day we spent together. He didn't have to do much to make me smile; honestly I was smiling more in the last month and a half than I had done in over a century. It was such an unusual feeling for me: to be as happy and as content as I am now. It also felt strange to be so carefree considering the fact that the ring of power is in the Shire and that my grandfather and sister had left me to go to do who knows what. I also didn't understand why they left me behind. We are a family and families stay together no matter what.

But that being said, even though I didn't understand their reasons for leaving me behind, I wasn't complaining now. I was happy living this life with Frodo, even if it was for a short time. I had never known peace like this. My affection for Frodo grew more and more each day, which caused me to question the reactions I had to being with him. My heart always raced, I felt somewhat anxious of what I was saying, and most of all, I was just smiling nonstop while we were together. That was the thing that confused me more than any of the others. I really hadn't smiled this much in years. Not with Lin, Grandfather, or Father and most certainly not with the King of Mirkwood. Even though he's my biological grandfather, I never considered him family.

Why? Because of how he treated Father and also how he treated Lin and I. It was like he treated us as objects and not his family. He constantly shamed Father publicly for marrying my mother, an Elf of a lower status than him, even though Father had suffered enough after losing my mother. My father was truly a spectacular being. He could shoulder all of this pain and still stand tall through all of it. But no matter how badly he treated my sister, she was still completely loyal to him and still called him Grandfather. I never called him that, often saying that I had one grandfather and that wasn't him. Lin often scolded me for being so disrespectful and cold to him, but no matter what she said, she was not going to win this argument. It's no different than how he treated Father and I on a regular basis. My father fell in love with a woman that was of lower station than him as he is the prince of Mirkwood, and even though the King had basically threatened Father, he still went through with the wedding ceremony. Father was aware of the consequences and that he would eventually lose his wife, but he still loved her enough to defy his father. If Mother had given birth to a son instead of twin girls, maybe he wouldn't treat my father so horribly. While Father told me to be kinder to the King, I simply refused. If he wasn't willing to stand up to him, then I would. No one insults my father after the pain he has suffered through all these years. If I could, I would honestly remove Father of all his duties as the King's son and have him be free. He deserved that after losing his wife.

Thinking about the isolation and lack of freedom I had back home, it almost made me think that it would be better for me if I stayed here. I knew that I wasn't treated very well by anyone outside Frodo's immediate circle of friends, I kept thinking that if I stayed here with Frodo and as long as he believed in me, I feel as though that would be enough. While I was constantly questioning why I felt this close to him, a man that I had only known for over a month, it was honestly like it was meant to be like this.

It was almost like it was meant to be. If I could abandon my life back home and just live here with him and that strangely, would be all I needed.

"Neera?" I heard him call.

I looked up from the book that I was reading on dragons. It had gotten a bit dark out, so I decided to read by the fireplace. Books became my best friend for when Frodo wasn't with me. I honestly learned so much in the last month and sadly, I was running out of material. I knew Frodo had said that I could help myself to any of the books in Bilbo's old study, but honestly, I still felt guilty about that. Also, I was starting to run out of things to read, so Frodo almost always brought more back to the house for me to read. While he still tried hard to get me to go into town with him, he knew that bringing books back was always enough to make me smile.

Then he and I made eye contact as he opened the door and spotted me sitting near the fireplace. He had a bundle of books in one hand and a lot of vegetables in the other. Clearly, Frodo had spent a good majority of the day in the market.

I smiled and ignored the usual feeling of my heart racing. I closed the book. "Welcome home."

He smiled back at me and looked at the ground for a moment and then made eye contact again. He then made his way over to the fire place and sat down next to me. Our usual evening routine and it still amazed me that no matter how busy or tired he was, he would always make an effort to have this time alone with me in the evenings.

"What are you reading?" he said, as he sat down.

"Oh, just one of your uncle's books about dragons," I said, handing to him, watching him peruse through the pages.

"This one, Neera?" he said in disbelief and then started laughing. "But you've already read through this one twice!"

I laughed. I knew it was foolish, but honestly, I really liked this book a lot. Not just because it talked about dragons, which I already knew enough about because of the King's stories. But it talked about all the various lands throughout Middle Earth, ones that I would never see once Grandfather and Lin came back to take me home. Also the pictures and maps next to the words in the book made it even more of a wonderful experience to read each time. I read of the Lonely Mountain and Lake Town, the dragons of the first and second ages, but I always found myself back at the chapter describing the story of Glaurung, the father of dragons. It strangely reminded myself of my own situation living with the curse of Sauron. How at one point, Shasta and Isildur were so happy and in love and how one act of defiance caused them to be torn apart through Sauron's curse. Islidur went mad because of the ring and lost his life, and in her grief of losing him, tortured herself with many affairs until she died giving birth to her son. I knew Sauron's curse was an act of revenge against the two that caused his demise. The person who killed Glaurung was at one point happy and then as part of his punishment for killing Glaurung, his wife discovered that she had married her own brother and killed herself, to which he followed directly after her. Thankfully, I had passed that part in the book for Frodo not to see me tearing up at what I had just read. Dragons just seemed like extraordinary creatures to read about. They carried such power, both in life and in death.

I think I also loved reading about dragons because they reminded me so much of the Elven race: strong, proud, revered by all, but also feared as well. Trust me, you do NOT want to get into a battle with an elf. They will tear you to pieces. During one battle, my father had slain over 200 foes, by estimate, but to be fair, he had killed so many, that it couldn't be counted fairly. Yes, through reading through this book, I realized that dragons and elves were very similar.

"Well, it's my favorite!" I said. "Stories of far away places, dragons, elves, men, dwarves, it has everything! There are no books like this back home! Most of the things that I knew about dragons came from our king. And try all he might, he's a terrible story teller."

He laughed at my enthusiasm. "You know you can keep it, if you want?"

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I couldn't do that, Frodo! This belongs to your Uncle! It would be wrong of me to take it!"

"Well, if you remember, my Uncle Bilbo is gone now and left everything he had to me. If I say you can have it, you can have it."

"Frodo, is there another reason you're saying this?" I asked in seriousness, noticing his change of tone and how desperate he seemed that I take the book with me. He also wasn't looking at me. What was with this sudden change?

He sighed and then met my eyes again. He remained silent. I wasn't sure why he was acting like this. We had practically told each other everything about one another over the past few months and there was surprisingly no hesitance there. Now, he just seemed scared and silent, which troubled me greatly.

"Frodo," I said sternly, knowing it didn't take much from me to get him to say what he was thinking: something I learned from living with him these past few months.

He sighed again. "It's just that I don't know when Gandalf and your sister will be coming back and take you back to where you came from."

Ah, so that's why. He began speaking again, still very shakily, but more confident than before.

"I don't know how much longer we have together before you leave, but what probably scares me more is that once you go home, you'd forget me. I'd like for you to have some part to remember me by."

I turned away and started laughing. Not because of what he said, but because of how ridiculous a statement it was. He honestly thinks that after all we have been through together over the past few months that I would forget him? That the fact that I bore my heart and soul out to him and he with me is something I could possibly erase from my memory? And I know for a fact that no one has made me happier in the many centuries I've been alive than him and that is something I would never, ever, ever forget. It was absolutely impossible. His friendship was now a part of me.

He didn't seem to understand why I was laughing and seemed hurt. I knew I needed to make him understand before he got upset.

"Frodo, for goodness sake. I appreciate the thought, but I won't need a silly book to remember you. I couldn't forget you even if I tried."

He seemed surprised at hearing this.

"Really? You mean that?" he asked, almost like a child. I smiled. It was one of the many things about him that made him very charming and adorable.

"Of course, I do. I could live a thousand life times and never forget you, Frodo."

He just smiled in a way that I had never seen him smile before and grabbed one of my hands and held it tightly. I responded with a smile and returning his hand hold. This was one of these precious moments between us that I felt my heart racing in my chest. It wasn't often that we had these moments, but when they happened, it would make me indescribably happy. We would just connect, smile, and hold hands and in these moments, I felt the whole world just vanish away, leaving us together. We had grown so close over the past few months and I honestly dreaded the day that Lin and Grandfather would come back and take me back to Mirkwood. I even feared that I wouldn't even want to go home after living with him for so long now. I honestly don't know if I could go back now and that's what scared me the most.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Frodo let go of my hand and stood up. I already missed the familiar warmth I had grown accustomed to, but of course, didn't show that to him.

"My friends and I are going down to the Green Dragon Inn tonight." I know he couldn't see me, but I rolled my eyes. I knew he meant well, but he also knew that apart from just three of his friends, the entire population of the Shire had absolutely no interest in getting to know an Elf. Also, going downtown to spend the evening with a bunch of loud and drunk men did not sound appeasing to me. I had enough of that from some of the Elven men back home and I came here to get away from that. "Please, come. We'll have fun! We'll laugh and sing and drink and you'll be with me the whole time! Please Neera?"

I rolled my eyes again. He was so stubborn. He truly didn't understand why I didn't want to go out. I know he meant well, but he was just too naive sometimes.

"Frodo, you know why I don't want to do that. I know you don't see it, but your neighbors do not care for my presence and I don't want to be reminded of that every time I step outside your house."

But even as I made my feelings clear, he still persisted in ignoring me. His smile still bright, his determination never wavering. He got back down to my level, acting like a child begging his mother for something sweet.

"Please Neera?" he said, almost like a child. I would have relented in any other situation, but this was one I was not going to let him win. "I mean do you really want to be stuck up here all day long doing nothing and being alone..."

"I said no, Frodo and I want you to respect that," I said sternly, obviously knowing he was so young and naive and wouldn't really understand my meaning any other way.

His smile faded and his shoulders slumped. I could tell that I went a bit too far. I felt terrible. I had never spoken to him like that before, and I never wanted to again.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry for pushing you," he said, smiling sadly. "I know I must seem unreasonable, but I want you to feel like you're welcome here and not feel like you have to hide in this house by yourself when I'm not home. I know the way some of my neighbors' treatment of you must have contributed to that and I just want to try to make you not feel that way. It's unfair to you and you shouldn't have to feel like that."

I felt touched by his reasons and I knew that he always meant well in whatever he did. Frodo was just a very kind and genuine person and I honestly felt that there wasn't a mean cell in his entire body. He had just been so kind to me from the moment we saw each other for the first time. He grabbed my hand again, squeezed it and then made his way over to the door and with one last glance at me, walked out into the night.

I didn't want to leave it like this, so I raced after him, opened the door and called out to him.

"Frodo!"

He looked back at me in confusion and anticipation at what I was about to say. I smiled.

"Please don't stay out too late!"

It took him a moment to realize what I was asking and when he finally got the message, he smiled brightly, waved to me and ran off into the night. I smiled so hard that I felt my mouth opening and revealing my teeth. I hoped he would come back soon so that we could be together tonight. He knew that I forgave him. I always forgave him whenever we had these conversations. How could this boy think I could ever forget him when he makes me feel this happy? He must have been quite foolish to think that I could ever forget these past few months that we have had together. Unthinkable.

Forgetting Frodo was just impossible.

But what scared me even more was the knowledge that being without him was now even more impossible and I could not for the life of me understand why.

I decided to go outside and enjoy the midnight air. I took my bow and arrows with me because I wanted to practice some late night shooting. Frodo would be alright downtown with his friends and I hadn't practiced shooting in the dark for a while now and I was getting pretty rusty. I needed to be prepared to shoot anything and everything that might come at us. Thankfully, nothing had come to the Shire as my sister and grandfather had warned me, but then again, I couldn't be too careful. They seemed very serious about their leaving and about me keeping Frodo and the ring safe. Also, the town complained to Frodo that they were terrified of a woman shooting arrows in the middle of the woods, tow which he rebuffed all of them and stood by me. I shot arrows at the targets perfectly all except one because it was too dark to see it, which frustrated me greatly as I realized I had been slacking off on my practicing for far too long. As much as I loved being with Frodo, it had also distracted me and it showed in my shooting. Also, I didn't have Father supervising my practicing either.

After a while, I felt sufficient in my shooting and decided to go back to the house. As I walked up the stairs, I looked back in a foolish hope that I would see Frodo coming home from being out with his friends. But as I said, it was a foolish hope and of course, no one was there. I smiled though and then continued my way up the stairs and to the door. But as I went up to open the latch to the door, the door pushed open and I realized that someone had opened the door.

I knew that Frodo wasn't home because the fire wasn't lit and I had put it out before I had left. That was an hour ago. I held a firm grip on one of my dagger and slowly went in.

Something wasn't right. Someone was in the house and it wasn't either of the two people currently habituating it. I pulled out one of my daggers from its sheath, gripped it tightly in my hand and opened the door slowly. I walked in through the front door very slowly. I walked in, a bit terrified because my training in the woods proved that I was off my game and I was afraid that I would make one wrong move and it would be over for me. I continued to walk, sensing someone's presence, it seemed familiar, somehow. I didn't let that throw me and I continued to search every room. I turned around once I heard a book falling in Bilbo's study. What was going on? Why were they in the house? Were they dangerous? Was it Samwise? I knew Samwise had the terrible habit of coming by the house without ever telling Frodo or I and it often gave us a huge fright.

I was just about to open the door to Bilbo's study when I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn and I was about to pull my dagger out and attack the intruder when their face came into view, causing me to stop dead in my tracks and drop my dagger with a sharp clink on the ground.

"Oh my word," I said, and threw myself into the intruder's arms. "Thank goodness you're both alright! I had been so worried!"

"Alright, alright, Neera," the voice said. "That's quite enough."

I looked up again to see Grandfather and Lin again. I wasn't dreaming. This was real. They were back. They were safe.

"Neera, we don't have time for this," Lin said.

But Grandfather was even more insistent than Lin.

"Is it secret? Is it safe?" he demanded.

What was going on and why did Grandfather sound so afraid? He had been gone for over two months and this is how he greets me? Seriously, Grandfather, what is going on?

"I...I don't know where it is," I said truthfully.

I really didn't. I didn't want to look at it or even be near it and so as soon as Grandfather and Lin left, I instructed Frodo to hide it as much as he could and while I could constantly feel the presence of the ring, I did not feel constant pain as I had felt when I saw it for the first time. I could still feel its presence, but because it was out of sight, it didn't bother me as much. Also, being with Frodo was almost soothing to the occasional stinging I felt to the pain.

"Well, then I hope he hid it well," Lin said, going off into a random room in the house to look for it.

I was quite frustrated. Were they not going to tell me where they had been for two months and why they hadn't told me anything or even sent a letter explaining where they were and when they were going to get back?

"So that's it? You're not going to tell me anything?" I asked annoyed.

I looked up at Grandfather, his form being illuminated by the light coming from the window. I was concerned. This was not like the two of them. There was no hello, no friendly greeting, or even a handshake or hug. What had they been doing for the past two months? Why wouldn't they tell me anything at all?

"Neera," he said, placing both hands on my shoulders. "I'll explain everything soon, I promise."

I was about to respond, when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs leading up to the house. As it was a presence I knew so well, I knew that it was Frodo. I smiled, glad that he was safe and well.

He then walked into the house and Grandfather immediately went after him.

Frodo whipped around in fright and looked directly at Grandfather in quite a state.

And then Grandfather repeated the words that he had said to me when he scared me out of my wits.

"Is it SECRET?" he asked hurriedly. "Is it SAFE?"

Once all the lights were on again, Frodo went rummaging through his belongings trying to find the envelope where the Ring had stayed for the past two months. When he originally hid it away, I asked him to never tell me where he put it and he had kept his promise. Once he came across the envelope, Grandfather ripped it out of his hands and tossed it into the fireplace of where I usually slept at night.

"What are you doing?" he asked, very confused. I looked over the fire and was wondering the exact same thing myself.

I watched the envelope that Grandfather had originally placed the ring in completely burn away and be consumed by the fire. I looked away once the ring came into full view. I would not break down again as a result of it. I absolutely refused to let this thing break me the way it had broken so many others. I felt the familiar stinging and Frodo noticed it and held my hand, telling me he was here and asking silently if I was alright. I was about to say that I was fine, when I felt the pain again, this time enough to knock me to my knees and be unable to move. I kept fighting back, but it was incredibly hard. Lin eventually shoved a hovering Frodo out of the way and held me close to her.

"Neera? Neera, if you can hear me, I need you to try to calm yourself and breathe, alright?" she said, almost in a panic herself.

I tried to do as she said and she muttered an incantation and I tried to open my eyes to find her hand glowing with a blue, glowing color that quickly disappeared as she placed her hand on my forehead and within moments, the pain went away and like last time, felt like it had been extinguished. I collapsed in Frodo's arms, probably by accident, and he held me close to him for a moment, before I felt another pair of arms taking me away from him.

"Are you alright?" Lin asked worriedly. "Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head with the little strength that I had left. "No, I'm fine. It will pass."

Grandfather's sigh of relief confirmed that he was relieved that I was alright as well. He then reached into the fire and with a pair of tongs, pulled out the treacherous thing from the flames. He then looked at Frodo

"Hold out your hand, Frodo," he said, calmly. Frodo and I of course, looked at him like he was crazy. That thing had just been in the fire and could easily hurt him if we let it. "It's quite cool."

He dropped it into Frodo's hands and he shuddered, almost as if he was completely amazed at how light and cool it was. I continued to look away from it, not wanting a repeat of what had just happened earlier.

"What can you see? Can you see anything?" he said, wandering around the room, his back turned to us. I was worried. I knew my grandfather was a complete mystery, but usually I could figure out what sort of mischief he was up to. That's why I'm here at Bag End, even two months after we left home. But now, I felt as if I was completely distant from him, a feeling I wasn't at all used to and I absolutely hated it.

"Nothing," he said, continuing to move around between his fingertips. "There's nothing."

Grandfather sighed and even I could tell looking from the back of him, that he felt dejected and disappointed. I raised an eyebrow. What was going on and why was he refusing to tell me? I looked over at Lin and she looked the exact same way as Grandfather, disappointed, and I imagine that if I could see his face, it would match Lin's.

"Wait."

Then I saw the markings on the ring from where I was standing, glowing red and shining a bright red light onto the confused face of my friend. Almost as if they were burning from within, almost like they were being inscribed on the ring only today.

"There are markings. It's some form of elvish. I can't read it."

I couldn't even read it and I'm an elf. I looked at the language on the ring and realized that I had never seen that kind of language before.

"There are few who can," Grandfather said solemnly. "The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here."

I looked up at the word Mordor. What? What are you saying Grandfather?

"Mordor?" Frodo asked, truly lost and confused as he was when Grandfather left the first time.

I had wanted to leave him out of this, but now, that seemed to be completely impossible.

"In the common tongue it reads: One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to break them all, and in the darkness, bind them!"

So this is it then: the cursed and treacherous thing that had caused so much pain and death to my family. The One Ring.

That's it! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and favorite! I love feedback and knowing that I have supporters, which in turn give me motivation to write more chapters! I also had to put in a Beauty and the Beast reference to books because I just had to. :) I also was never sure of how much time passed between Gandalf leaving and returning to the Shire in the movie. I know that in the book it was 17 years, but it never seemed that long in the film. So I made it a shorter passage of time as I wanted to develop their relationship. I really enjoy writing them, they're so cute. :)

Please I am BEGGING for reviews! I appreciate all the favorites and such, but I really would love to know how I am doing with the story and the writing and all that jazz. Constructive criticism only and no flames! If you leave a flame, you will be ignored and not taken into consideration! PLEASE IF YOU HAVE TIME TO FAVORITE AND FOLLOW THE STORY, PLEASE REVIEW!

Also 2 months was this story's one year anniversary! Thank you all for your support!

Thank you so much for your support!

Until next time!

Kagomehater4ever