Fan Fiction ❯ Forget Me Not ❯ The Breaking of the Fellowship ( Chapter 8 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

We set up camp as best we could, but even in the unearthly glow it looked uninviting. There was a beautiful, haunting melody singing from above and try as we may we couldn't understand what it meant; the words or the singing. It wasn't until Legolas, who had been walking around, unable to sit or stand still, finally spoke.

“A lament for Gandalf,” In four words he made all the memories come back full force almost making me cry. I pushed the tears and sad and angry thoughts back into my mind, not wanting to think about anything that had happened for a hundred more years.

Merry looked up to catch a glimpse of whomever was singing. The others were trying to make their beds-anything to keep their minds in tact. Gimli, the fat lard, had already fallen asleep, but Aragorn was still up sharpening his sword. Is it just me, or does he never sleep?

“What do they say about him?” Merry asked, totally ignoring Pip trying to get his attention to ask him a question about whether we had any pillows. Legolas turned toward the ground in sadness.

“I have not the heart to tell you,” He swiveled back around to Merry, his blue eyes shining with sorrow. “For me, the grief is still too near.” Merry seemed to take that as an answer, though he still seemed curious.

Pippin had given up on getting Merry's attention and turned to getting his bed in order. Sam and I were also fretting about the sheets and pillows, even though all had been generously supplied by the elves. I guess that when so much is at stake and there's nothing to be concerned about, my family gets concerned about nothing. I stole a glance at Frodo and quickly turned back to what I was doing. I guess there was something else to worry about too.

“I bet they don't mention his fireworks. There should be a verse about them.” Pip and I nodded silently, but I was still preoccupied with Frodo's health. He'd been looking a little pale since we came back from meeting Galadriel.

Welcome Miriam of the Shire…You bring great peril to the ruin of all…

Those words spoken to me had been running through my mind for hours, as if all I had to do was to examine them and figure out what they meant. Me? The little Hobbit who wasn't even supposed to come along? How do I end up being the one who brings peril? Why is the blame suddenly all on me? Why can't Pippin be the one who ruins everything; he already does anyways!

I pushed everything I was doing out of my head and focused on a state of equilibrium. I am fine…nothing is going to happen that shouldn't…if I was meant to ruin everyone's lives, then I'll just…I'll just…merciful heavens, what in world is Sam doing now! Sam's sudden loss of reality jolted me out of my thoughts.

“The finest rockets ever seen,

They burst in stars of blue and green,

Or after thunder, silver showers

Came falling like a rain of flowers…”

I knew he was loony, but…

“Oh, that doesn't do them justice by a long road…” he muttered and sat back down again. I smiled half-heartedly and walked over to Frodo.

“I don't think the state of being daunted fits you, personally.” I said, sitting beside him. He didn't speak or even move at all. “This isn't good,” I said harshly, hoping he heard me in the state that he was in. “If you go down, so do I. Not only that, but so does everyone else.” I got up and walked quickly back over to my little bed, trying hard not to cry. He'd just been so distant…and…it was finally starting to scare me.

As I lay down, everything didn't look like it was going too swell. No one had a smile on or some semblance of happiness. I shut my eyes tight, blocking out all negative things in my way, but there was so many I could begin to feel the tears running down.

There came a touch of cold across my fingers, startling me into opening my eyes. Instead of those shining blue eyes I was expecting, I saw duller ones. It took me a second, but I suddenly realized that I was looking at Pippin-and he was holding my hand. I laid in shock for a minute, but it was comforting and that was all I needed right then. Pip pulled my hand towards him and kissed it right as I fell asleep.

The moon was shining brightly in its reflection on the water's surface. I lazily dipped my finger into the pond, savoring the fact that nothing around me felt too hot or too cold, just the perfect temperature for a night-lit stroll.

It wasn't the Shire, for nothing there had this taste about it, yet it had to be the place where I was born and raised. Everything there convinced me into thinking it was my home, but it was all fake, because I knew it couldn't and wouldn't last forever.

I walked slowly down the rock-trodden path, not wanting the peace about this place to end. I thought I was alone, but soon I came upon someone else, sleeping underneath a tree nearby. He had white robes on, strange shoes, a staff lying on the ground beside him, and his white hat was covering up his eyes and face, making it impossible for me to distinguish who it could be.

The closer I got, the more he stirred, until, finally, when I was only two steps away from him, he awoke and the hat dropped onto the ground, shocking me at who was under the mask.

It was Gandalf.

A hundred thoughts raced through my mind; he was dead, wasn't he? What was he doing here? What was I doing here? Where was here? Was he in some sort of limbo that only I could help him out of?

Gandalf sat up, looking around for his hat and placing it back on his head. It took a few moments for him to notice me, but it seemed like he wasn't surprised at my presence at all.

Miriam, come here…he whispered, but his lips didn't move. Frightened, I stayed where I was. He sighed inaudibly. I pushed against my ears, thinking I had gone deaf. Although, now that I though about it, nothing here made a sound. There's nothing wrong with your ears.Gandalf told me and I went to sit by him, welcomed by the sight of his smile.

“Where are we?” I asked him using my voice. It was small and hard to hear, but it still worked. He sat up straighter, his smile fading a bit, ready to get down to business.

That's not the important issue here. He said. I could tell by the warning signs that there was a long speech prepared. I need to speak with you about an important matter. He noticed my squirming. Nothing is more important than this right now. No questions. I settled, but couldn't stay still for one minute.

“This is about Frodo.” It wasn't a question, it was a statement! (At least that's my justification of it.)

Yes.

We had the most comfortable sleep that was possible in the journey, yet in the morning none of us looked as if we had slept a bit. Merry and Pippin because they had too much caffeine, Sam because he was weeping for Gandalf, me because I was up all night conversing with the dead (Yes, I knew he wasn't really dead…Yeesh!), and Frodo because…well because he's Frodo and the ring-bearer isn't entitled to sleep.

Nevertheless we set out when the sun was just brightening up the sky. But first, there was a special treat. Galadriel had gifts for all of us. The elves gave us special clothing and all the hobbits were given leaf pendants for our cloaks.

“Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people,” one of the elves remarked. As fascinating as that sounded, I was too tired and saddened by what Gandalf had told me to care. “May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes.”

Each person in the fellowship helped to fill the boats with our food and clothes. There wasn't a glad face among any of us until Legolas found what the elves had given us as a treat.

“Lembas,” he remarked, a grin creeping onto his face. (A/N: Mop-up on Aisle One- all the fangirls have melted!) “Elvish waybread.” He explained to Merry and Pippin, who smile and nodded. They had no idea what he was talking about. Legolas took a tiny bite.

Only one bite? I thought. No wonder all these elves are so tiny…one hobbit could eat sixteen of those things and still not be full.

“One bit is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man.” Pippin and Merry nodded and smiled again. I thought it was funny that Legolas couldn't tell something was up. He put the sack down into the boat and walked off leaving the three of us sitting alone in the boat.

Merry turned to Pip, making me have to lean in to listen. “How many did you eat?”

“Four.” Merry nodded, cleaning out his teeth with his finger. I hit them both with a bag full of bread.

“You're both pathetic! Not to mention disgusting!” They just looked at me without saying a word. It was creepy. Very creepy. I couldn't handle having them look at me that way, so I went to find Sam.

I wasn't looking for Frodo. I was avoiding him. Unfortunately, wherever Frodo is, Sam is.

I saw him and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn't do it…Gandalf had given me too much to handle…nothing was going to be the same after this. Thoughts swarming in my head, I tugged on Sam's sleeve as if we were four and five again.

“I have to tell you something,” I whispered almost inaudibly. Sam looked at me strangely. Carefully I shifted my gaze towards Frodo, who was trying to catch my eye. There was no need for any more explanation. Sam can understand my every thought if I would let him.

We walked a little ways away from the boats and quietly began to talk.

I was going to have to face him sooner or later, but I knew I wasn't ready. When Frodo helped me into the boat, taking my hand and still holding on to it long after he saw me safely in, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and never allow me to have control of myself again.

“Why are you shivering?” he asked, holding onto my hand tighter now that he thought I was getting sick. “Don't worry. Everything will be alright, you'll see.” Even though his voice was sincere, I could see the doubt in his eyes, telling me he didn't even have trust in himself to tell me the truth.

“How do you know?” tears began to stream down my cheeks.

“This is a relatively safe river…” Sam said, covering up for the fact that Frodo was confused by my meaning. I moved my hand from his and slowly turned around to face the river.

`This is going to be one long ride…' I thought to myself, closing my eyes and letting the sound of the water calm me. It didn't do much good.

Daydreaming kept bringing me back to what Galadriel had told me while she was handing out the gifts from the other elves. Except for the leaf pendant, I had gotten nothing. Just fair warning.

`You were not meant to be here. What you have decided and what you will decide will bring ruin.'

It wasn't exactly the best of praise that I had ever received. Now that I had been given two warnings and messages, I was more than frightened. I was petrified that any footstep that I took would mean the end of the world.

If it had been any other circumstance, I would have been glad that Frodo was trying his hardest to compensate for what had happened the other night. We would have been fine if it were not all real. Then again, if it were any other situation, I wouldn't be here. I'd be sitting at home in the Shire, reading and sending mental daggers across time to my brother for leaving me there.

The scenery was beautiful, but I could hardly see anything through my tear-stained eyes. Even though I tried as hard as I could, they still kept coming, like a never ending rain.

My pain was interrupted by a clink as something fell onto the boat's floorboards. It was as bottle. As I reached down to pick it up, Frodo's eyes sparkled and I realized it was his.

“I'm sorry,” I said, giddy as a schoolgirl, “I didn't mean to…I mean, it just-” he cut me off, smiling a little and taking it from me. “What is it?” I asked, amazed that such a bright liquid could be contained.

Frodo gazed fondly at it. “It's a star,” he explained, twirling the bottle in his hand so that it caught the light from the sun. “To shine in dark places when all other lights go out.”

“Poetic.” I said, suddenly aware that I still had tears on my cheeks and wiping them away hurriedly. Frodo slipped the bottle into his bag, and then turned to look at me. His hand came up to my cheek to wipe away the last remaining tear.

“Please don't cry,” he whispered, stroking my cheek even though it was now dry. “Don't cry if you can't tell me the problem so that I can fix it.” It was so thoughtful that I almost felt tears leap to my eyes again, but instead I wrapped my arms around him and rested against his chest, content to be content for the moment.

We docked towards nightfall, no one really ready to fall asleep. There was too much danger involved to be carefree. The anticipation was maddening. It was as if we could almost smell the orcs and terrible creatures sneaking up on us. In fact, there was one in the river, hiding behind a small log.

Gollum had been tracking us since Moria. I was not the only one who had noticed; when Frodo figured it out, he became sullen and moody again, and Aragorn and the others had known for a while.

Frodo's absence of mind caused me to have to hang out with Merry and Pippin again. We lay down on our stomachs and began to play cards, but my heart wasn't into it. I couldn't stop thinking about how Sam, the master of pushing people into things (at least he could always make me do what he wanted me to), couldn't even get Frodo to eat one bite of anything.

“You can't spend all your time complaining, you know.” Pippin looked up from over his cards and stared at me.

“Why not?” Merry asked, licking his lips and trying to cheat without any of us noticing. “You do it all the time.”

“Well, you can't spend all your time worrying about Frodo, then.” Pip revised. My head snapped up, startled by his boldness. “It's not healthy.” For the first time in my life I didn't see him blush when he spoke that way to me.

“I don't think you'll have to worry about that much longer.” I said, staring hard at my cards. I didn't have anything good, but we didn't have much to bet on, so it was okay.

”What does that mean?” Merry asked, a confused look on his face. Pippin wore an identical one, too.

“Never mind,” I said shortly, gathering up the cards and stuffing them harshly into Merry's bag. Both of them kept staring, as if waiting for an answer. I changed moods quickly, not wanting to sink further into a depression. “Let's play a game.”

It worked. “What kind of game?” Pip asked, suddenly all smiles and cheerful again. We all sat up in a circle, as if we were in a secret club and this was our first meeting.

“We each ask each other a question and we have to answer, without hesitating, the truth to no matter what we were asked.” Both looked excited. I secretly marveled at how wonderful it would be to be that easily amused. “I'll go first, to start us off.” I gazed at both their faces, picking my victim. “Merry,” I finally decided, thinking of a really good question right off the bat. “What's the one thing in your life that's most embarrassing to you?”

Merry turned bright red. I giggled while we waited for his answer. It was obviously right on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't have the guts to say it. “I…I…” he stuttered.

“No hesitating!” Pippin reminded him. Merry gave him an evil glare.

“Imodlkhgmygrangksndidresfnkdl,” he mumbled to the ground.

“I'm sorry, but the answer doesn't count if we can't hear it.”

“I…modeled my grandmother's dresses that she had made for my cousin…” he said a little louder. “And they were all pink…” Pippin and I hooted with laughter, unable to even try to control it. “My turn.” He said when we finally calmed.

“Miriam,” Merry flashed me a scary grin. “What is your deepest, darkest secret?” I could feel my cheeks turning red; making me wish it was darker so that they couldn't see my face.

“I've never…” I gave them both a shy glance. “I've never smoked pipe weed before.” Merry started to laugh, but Pippin's mouth just hung open, as if gravity were pulling it down or something. It made me mad.

“Oh, yeah, Peregrin Took?” I said angrily. “What's your deepest darkest secret?”

Pip closed his mouth and looked at the ground for a moment, suddenly turning the tables on me and becoming serious. After a couple of seconds, he looked up and stared me straight in the face.

“I've fallen in love.”

There was an empty silence that hung over the three of us. Distantly I could hear the fire crackling and Aragorn and Boromir talking, but everything else to me had ceased to be heard.

“W-What do you mean?” I asked, my voice and body shaking slightly, though I couldn't imagine why.

But Pip just kept on staring, his eyes never leaving my face.

“Miriam?” the voice of my brother broke our silence. “Come over here and get to sleep!” I swallowed hard and didn't answer, but got up and joined Sam and Frodo. I was scared to look back, scared to find Pippin still staring at me, Merry's face still void of answers. It was as if I was supposed to have figured it out on my own.

“I still can't believe she hasn't ever smoked a pipe before…” I heard one of them whisper a few seconds later. I get it…I thought to myself, gently closing my eyes to try to fall to sleep. It was all a joke. Suddenly my eyes flashed open, as if of their own accord. That's all it was…right?

The next morning was an early start. Too early for any decent hobbit to get up, if you ask me, but nevertheless we were on the river before the sun came up.

Since I sort of have a short attention span, (who am I kidding? I don't even have an attention span…) during the entire first half hour on the boats, I poked Sam in his back while he rowed looking extremely bored.

No one seemed to want to talk to anyone else, whether in their own boat or in another. Everyone was deep in their own thoughts as they silently rowed along, eyes glazed over as tough they were far away in their own world. It made me slightly uncomfortable; I didn't have a fantasy world to escape to.

Even the river itself seemed quiet until Aragorn tapped Frodo on the shoulder. “Frodo,” he half whispered. “The Argonath…” For a minute I didn't think I had heard him correctly, but then I saw that Aragorn was looking upward, towards the huge statues poised on either side of the river that I was too stupid to notice. It was two men, human men, obviously, who seemed as if they needed to be in color for the full effect of their glory. Their hands were out, maybe guarding something or just there to make themselves look royal.

“Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old.” Aragorn kept talking, as if he was the only one gazing upon the kings and he wasn't talking to anyone in particular. “My kin.” He added as if it were an afterthought.

They were so tall that when we began to pass them by, I couldn't crane my neck back without falling out of the boat. It was magnificent! Suddenly I laughed out loud; just one of the statues' toes was as large as my whole body!

Frodo heard me from the boat he was sharing with Aragorn. (A/N: I changed the boats around a little- there was no way that Frodo, Sam, Miriam, and Aragorn could all fit into one boat. So…Sam, Miriam, and Pippin are all in one boat with Aragorn, Frodo, and Merry in another and everyone else is basically the same.) He winked at me and I smiled. Somehow he always knew what I was thinking.

For the rest of the boat ride I fell asleep in Pip's lap. Faintly as I fell asleep, I tried not to look too much into the fact that he didn't seem to mind at all. At least I was able to kick Sam in my sleep. I'm still not willing to forget what he did to me in Rivendell.

We rested on the beach in that late afternoon. I was still asleep, but Pippin, of course, abandoned being my pillow for food. I awoke drooling in Frodo's lap. Drowsily, I tried to lift my head, but found that there was a sandwich resting on my head. Then I realized that the boats were no longer on the shore.

“Why are my feet covered in sand?” I asked sleepily. Frodo laughed a little and took the sandwich off my head, gobbling the rest of it down in a couple gulps. I sat up a bit. “Did you drag me over here?” I said, pointing to the drag marks that led back to my feet.

Frodo smiled apologetically. “I wanted to carry you, but Sam said you didn't deserve it,” He noticed my confused look. “I think you gave him a bruise.” We both laughed.

“Whatever I do, you can almost always bet that he started it somehow.” I said and put my head on his shoulder as he did the same. WE were silent for a few minutes.

“I didn't know that you were that tired,” he said, breaking the lull that was slowly putting me to sleep. My eyes flashed open, gulping and suddenly realizing why I was so sleepy.

“I…I wasn't…I didn't…get very much sleep on shore last night.” I stammered. My mind was giving me a series of flashbacks; Pippin's eyes glaring into mine, Merry, Pip and I sitting in a circle, the fire illuminating Sam's face as if just by looking at me he could see into my soul. I sat up suddenly, remembering what Galadriel had told me. Frodo's eyes opened, filling with concern about what could be bothering me. “I have to tell you something.” I began.

His eyes lingered on me, his brow furrowing in apprehension. I could just imagine what he was thinking. “What is it?” he asked.

“I…I…” my heart caught in my throat. “Maybe…May…” I couldn't do it. Now wasn't the time or the place. Nothing was going right. “Maybe I should get something to eat.” I finished, aware that my eyes were glazed over and distant. Giving Frodo a kiss, I stumbled over to the fire near where Gimli, Pippin, and Merry were sitting with the food. Or hogging it, depending on how you look at it.

I tried to ignore the way that the three of them were giving me looks, but it didn't work. “What!” I hissed, reaching for the food on the other side of the campfire. “OUCH!” Pulling back quickly, I examined the wound I had just given myself.

Without saying a word, Gimli pulled a bottle out of his bag and threw it at me. As I caught it I realized that it was ointment for burns. “Thank you,” I said, my face turning a bright shade of red when I struggled to put it on the backside of my upper arm. Sam came over to help me.

“So what were you two looking so serious about?” Sam tried to sound casual, but wasn't succeeding.

I turned around to make sure he was done putting the stuff on my arm. “It was…it was nothing.” I wasn't avoiding his eyes…just looking at my burn. Who am I kidding? I was looking at everything but his eyes.

As usual, Sam didn't believe me. Everyone was staring at me with the same look. My eyes went twice their normal size. “What!” I gasped, amazed that they were so utterly stupefied by someone else's life. “It's not as if he was proposing or anything!” to my shock I saw a look of relief cross everyone's faces. Determined to not let it get to me, I rolled my eyes at them all.

Merry got up to go get firewood. Pip and Sam retreated to fighting over the remaining food, but Gimli was still looking strange. I squirmed a little out of reflex.

“It's the last thing Frodo needs to be thinking about, Ms Miriam,” he spoke to me as if I were a little hobbit in her tweens instead of one who is fully capable of handling her own problems. “You're just making it harder on him.” I glared, but kept my face down, staring hard at the sand beneath my feet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Merry trotting back over with more firewood.

Merry suddenly tripped, spilling the wood everywhere. I swear, sometimes he is just as bad as Pippin. I could feel myself start to smile in spite of everything else. The fleeting happiness lifted just as soon as Gimli forgave Merry.

“Where's Frodo?” someone asked, and I was on my feet a second before anyone else was. Without thinking, my feet took off running of their own accord, with me powerless to stop them. I had no idea where I was going, but that didn't seem to matter anymore. For some reason, I knew exactly where Frodo was.

He had picked the perfect place to hide, but he wasn't there. For some odd reason, I had an ominous feeling that his presence was there, but as I looked everywhere around me, I couldn't find him.

Then, suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw him. He was falling, appearing out of nowhere from the top of some sort of stone sanctuary. I was on the other side of the field, and, before I could reach him, Aragorn come from behind Frodo.

There was some hushed talking, but suddenly Frodo leapt up from his place on the ground and began to run away from our protector, as if he were some sort of evil. They ran underneath the stone pavilion. I jogged over behind a stone column to hear better, not understanding at all what was going on.

“I swore to protect you.” Aragorn explained, trying to come closer to show he meant no harm.

“Can you protect me from yourself?” said Frodo, looking down and opening up his right hand, where the ring now lay in the open. There was a little light of hope in his face as he asked, “Would you destroy it?” Aragorn shuffled closer, as if inticed by the ring and hearing its voice call to him.

Aragorn bent down and closed Frodo's fist, not giving in to the ring's wishes. “I would have gone with you to the end.” He nearly whispered, pushing Frodo's fist back at him. “Into the very fires of Mordor.” Frodo gave him a grateful look.

“I know.”

He was still talking, but suddenly all I could focus on was the noise coming from behind us. It was the sound of hundreds of orcs, charging toward us, getting closer every second.

Aragorn heard it, too. “Go, Frodo!” he said, pulling out his sword. “Run.” Frodo looked up and noticed me for the first time. I could almost see his mouth form my name, but I was too preoccupied with the fact of running away. I ran toward him, almost knocking Aragorn over, and pulled hard on his hand. Just over the hill were the orcs.

We ran hard, dodging trees and brushes with ease. Suddenly I stopped, panting, with Frodo running a little a head of me before noticing.

“I have to…tell you…” I sputtered, trying to get enough air to talk. Frodo glanced around impatiently and trying frantically to pull me along again.

“Yes, yes, everything will be alright, but we have to-”

“No!” I blurted out, not allowing him to finish. “You don't understand! I'm not leaving with you!”

He gave me a look of reproach. “I know, but you'll be with Sam and Merry and Pip-” I caught his arm and forced him to look at me.

“I'm not leaving with you. I'm not leaving with anyone.”

Confusion dawned on his face. “But, if…Where are you going?” There were tears in my eyes by this time and I could see his were about to start.

It was all I could do to not to tell him where I was going to go, or what I was going to do without him. I simply took his face in my hands and gave him one last kiss.

___________________________________________________________

It's short, I know, but that's all the movie's fault for putting so much stuff in there that I didn't need! j/k! and I'm very sorry this took so long to put out, but I was sick and I went to England and…there are a million and one excuses.

The next chapter will be better. For some reason I didn't feel like I gave this one my all. (This is the point when all you loyal readers go, “No! It was better than the other chapters!” That will probably never happen, will it?)

I'll be writing while I'm in Galveston over the next week, but I have my birthday after that, and I've already been so busy with Driver's Ed…but I'll write as much as I can! Plus, I have to take my permit test in July.

And who wants to write on their birthday, anyway? Oh, wait…that would be me…

Emmablk1