The Fellowship of the Novel Characters: Chapter Four

Hey everyone! How have you been? I’m tired and sick from eating too many cheese sticks. Plus my keyboard is cutting out. On the bright side, I’m about to order some library books online; the first time in a good while! Yay!

Tiny writing announcement, I am considering rewriting DAR/The Unveiling/The book where these characters are from. The plot was super cliche and BORING, so yeah. Grimaces we’ll see what happens. I was going to trash it entirely, but my friend and Sister said not to.

I haven’t been very consistent with blogging. First I was too tired (or just plain lazy), then I was visiting friends in another state. But I’m back, and let’s get on with this Lord of the Rings fanfiction.

Trigger warnings: Lord of the Rings is rated PG-13, and while my writing will not be excessively gory, it will reflect the darkness and death that the Fellowship had to face. Also, spoilers.

Summary: Even thought Candace, Stella, and Sam weren’t droppin’ no eaves, Gandalf has thought of a better use for them.

Table of Contents:

Chapter One 

Chapter Two 

Chapter Three 

“Come along you lot, keep up.”

“Easy for you to say,” Candace grumbled, hitching her backpack of pots and pans higher onto her shoulders. I nodded in agreement, rolling my shoulder under the weight of my bag and giving the leash I held a tug, telling Luke to stop dallying. Gandalf and Frodo walked ahead, leading a pony.

We stopped. “Be careful,” warned Gandalf. “The enemy has many spies, both bird and beast.”

“Alliteration,” said Candace under her breath. I nudged her.

Gandalf glanced at Frodo. “Is it safe?”

Frodo patted his breast pocket and nodded. “Never put it on,” Gandalf said. “The moment you do, the enemy’s agents will be drawn to its power. Always remember Frodo, the Ring is trying to get back to its master. It wants to be found.”

“How comforting,” I muttered as Gandalf swung onto his horse and raced off. Even though I liked to complain, I was going to miss the wizard. Candace seemed to share my thoughts; one side of her mouth was turned up.

“Well, let’s go,” she said, “before something comes and eats us.”

***

“This is it.” Next to me Sam stopped, and I turned to him. 

“What’s it?” asked Candace. 

“If I take one more step, this’ll be the farthest from home I’ve ever been.” 

Frodo smiled, which made me smile (Frodo’s smile can make flowers grow, I’m sure of it. Note to self, take him to a flower patch when we get home and test my hypothesis), and walked to Sam, slinging his arm around him. “C’mom, Sam. Do you remember what Bilbo used to say? ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.'” They both stepped forward, and I looked at Candace.

“Come on.” It was a rare thing for me to do, but I extended my hand to her. After a moment’s hesitation she took and and we started to walk again.

We were definitely far from home.

***

We finally made camp and I used my backpack as a pillow while Sam cooked some sausages, Luke slept peacefully, and Frodo smoked in a tree. Candace, who was lying on her stomach, sat up and furrowed her brow. “Do you hear that?”

We all listened, and soon were able to hear lilting music. “Wood-elves,” said Frodo with a smile. Ducking under trees and through foliage, we dropped behind a log to watch the precession of elves move gracefully down the path.

“They’re so beautiful,” I said. It was true; I’d never seen something so lovely in my life. The soft light, rich colors, and velvet cloaks seemed like something out of a fairy tale.

“They’re going to the harbor beyond the White Harbor,” said Frodo. “To the Gray Havens.”

“They’re leaving Middle-earth.” Sam’s voice was small in the lovely music.

“Never to return.”

“I don’t know why…it makes me sad.” Sam leaned on the log, watching the parade of elves disappear.

As we lay in bed that night, I was wide awake thinking of the elves and the excursion we’d had. Sam flopped over. “Everywhere I lie there’s a great, dirty root sticking into my back.” 

Candace snorted. “Just shut your eyes and pretend you’re in your bed at home,” said Frodo dreamily. “With a nice, soft mattress and a feather pillow.”

That sounded nice. Rolling onto my side, I envisioned myself in my bedroom at home; posters for musicals hanging on the walls, my lava lamp glowing on my desk, listening to my parents talking softly in the kitchen.

It wasn’t working! I flopped over again, groaning loudly. Sam shared my feelings. “It’s not working, Mr. Frodo! I’m never going to be able to sleep out here.”

Luke snuffled, and in the dim light I saw Frodo smile. “Me neither, Sam.”

***

The next day as we trudged through a corn field, Candace and I had gotten separated from the hobbits. The sound of Sam calling Frodo’s name pointed us back in the direction we needed to goand when we rejoined them, Frodo was laughing at something Sam had said. “Sam, we’re still in the Shire. What could possibly happen?”

I guess what could possibly happen was two things could jump out of the corn and attack us.

I shrieked and Luke barked. “Wait, it’s Frodo Baggins!” said one of the hobbits (it turned out to be two hobbits), getting off of Frodo. “Merry, it’s Frodo!”

“Oh!” Merry got off of Sam, removing his foot from my windpipe in the process. “Hello, Frodo!”

Sam charged at the first hobbit, pushing him away from Frodo. “Get off ‘im! Come on, Mr. Frodo.”

The two began to gather some scattered vegetables. “Who in the world are you, anyway?” asked Candace, picking up Luke as he began to growl at the hobbits.

“I’m Pippin,” said the slightly shorter one, “and that’s Merry.”

Sam glared at the duo. “You’ve been into Farmer Maggot’s crops!”

A dog began to bark. Luke opened his mouth to bark back, but Candace clamped her hand around it. “Come on!” hissed Merry, shoving Frodo into the cornstalks. Pippin gave my legs a push, and we all ran after Frodo as an angry man began to shout after us. “I don’t know why he’s so upset!” puffed Merry. “We only took a couple of carrots!”

“And some cabbages,” Pippin pointed out.  “And those bags of potatoes we lifted last week. Oh, and the mushrooms the week before!”

“Yes, Pip. My point is, he’s clearly overreacting!”

“Overreacting?” said Candace. “Sounds like you guys have some sticky fingers.”

We skidded to a stop at the rocky edge of a cliff, trading panicked looks. I was about to turn around when Sam plowed into us, sending us all over the edge. I fell, landing on top of a hobbit, girl, and puppy sandwich.

“I think I broke something,” Merry said as I rolled off the pile. He sat up, reaching to his back and pulling out a snapped carrot. 

“Ha ha,” said Candace sarcastically, setting Luke down.

“Trust a Brandybuck and a Took,” said Sam, mirroring Candace’s tone as he brushed his sleeve off.

“Aw, come on,” said Merry. “It was just a detour. A shortcut!”

“To what?” asked Sam, folding his arms.

“Mushrooms!” shouted Pippin.

All the hobbits jumped up and ran to the mushroom patch, talking over the virtues of the fungi. “Are you okay?” I asked Candace.

“My back hurts, but I’m fine. You?”

“Just some scrapes.” I petted Luke’s fuzzy head.

“I think we should get off the road,” Frodo said abruptly. I looked at him. 

“Why?”

The wind picked up, and a blood-curdling screech floated towards us.  “Get off the road!” Frodo repeated. “Quick!”

Scrambling over an embankment, the hobbits managed to squeeze into a nook under a tree root. “We can’t fit down there!” I whispered.

“Up!” said Candace, pointing to the thick branches of the tree the hobbits were hiding under. She shoved Luke at Sam. “Keep him quiet, please.”

He nodded and Candace knelt, lacing her fingers together to give me a boost. Stepping into her hands, I managed to clamber up the knobby trunk and onto a sturdy branch. I reached out for Candace, but when she grabbed my hand, I lurched forward, barely saving myself from a nasty fall by grabbing a branch with my free hand. “Sorry,” she whispered, seeing the pain I was in. I nodded, too aware of the hoofbeats that were approaching.

“On three, jump,” I whispered. “One…two…three!” I summoned all my strength and yanked as she leapt. With our joint effort, I pulled her into the tree by the time the dark figure rode into view.

I wrapped one arm around Candace, partly to keep her from falling, but partly to prevent myself from freezing in fear. The black rider slid off his horse and appeared to be sniffing. Kneeling, he clutched one of the roots above the hobbits’ head, thankfully looking right over them. He made a strange sound and seemed to go more alert. I could see Merry throw something into the woods and the rider screeched, mounting his horse and tearing off. As soon as the hobbits emerged from their hiding spot, Candace and I slid out of the tree. I was shaking so bad I could hardly stand.

“What was that?” Asked Merry. Silence.

I leaned against a tree, inhaling. “We need to keep going.” 

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