I Will Always Come Back

Chapter 16

I woke up early in the morning. The council had been on my mind the whole night, and I had barely gotten any sleep. I looked out the window. The sun was bright in the early morning sky, and songbirds chirped outside. I dressed in the finest clothes in the wardrobe, and found they fit me perfectly. I walked outside of my room and found a few Elven servants making their way to my room. They stopped in front of me, and one said, "Lord Elrond asked us to retrieve you and bring you to the secret council."

"Lead the way," I said, knowing that I would have no idea where we would be going. Elrond had a secret part of the forest in Rivendell where none could find it unless they were led there by his servants. I had never been there before, from what I remember. They led me through the forest, and we finally stopped amongst the golden trees.

"We cannot go any further," one of the servants said. "Just walk straight ahead. Elrond is waiting for you." I nodded my thanks, then slowly walked forward. All of a sudden, I saw a small clearing, with chairs on a circle of stone surrounding a small pedestal. I saw a few members of each free race. Men, elves, dwarves. As I sat down, I saw a young hobbit walk in. He had dark brown curls and astonishingly blue eyes. He seemed very nervous. I thought he may have been Frodo, the Ringbearer. He sat beside Gandalf, who was conversing with an elf on the other side of him.

Then, Elrond spoke, causing complete silence in the others. "Strangers of different lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate... This one doom." I saw the young hobbit fidget nervously. And, seemingly on cue, Elrond said, "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

The poor hobbit seemed to jump out of his skin. He quickly took something from his pocket and walked over to the pedestal. Then, reluctantly, he placed it down. The man I thought was Boromir said, "So it is true!"

Out of shock, I exclaimed, "Sauron's Ring! The Ring of Power!"

A red haired dwarf said, "The doom of man!"

Boromir said, "In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark. In the west, a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, 'Your doom is near at hand.' Isildur's bane is found." He was walking toward the Ring. He reached his hand out to grab it.

"Boromir!" Elrond shouted.

Then, Gandalf said, "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul." I cringed, as did the rest of the council. The Black Speech of Mordor was painful to hear.

Elrond looked offended. "Never has anyone uttered words of that tongue here in Imladris," he said.

"I do not ask your pardon, master Elrond," Gandalf said, "for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the west. The Ring is altogether evil."

Boromir didn't seem to agree. I could tell he was being taken by the Ring. It was too powerful for him. "No, it is a gift... A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the steward of Gondor, held the forces of Mordor at bay. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!" This man was so foolish. Did he seriously think a simple man would be able to control it?

A man in the corner then said, "You cannot wield it. None of us can." I recognized the man as Aragorn, son of Arathorn. "This ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master." I knew Aragorn was right, no matter what anyone else said.

Boromir glared at Aragorn. "And what would a ranger know of this matter?"

I was fuming. Aragorn had come to be my friend over the past few years, and I was ready to defend him. "This is know mere ranger," I started, "This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

Boromir looked at Aragorn disbelievingly. "Aragorn? This is... Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," I finished, hoping I had made this self centered man show more respect to others.

Aragorn looked exasperated at me. "Havo dad, Legolas." Sit down, Legolas. I obliged reluctantly.

"Gondor has no king," Boromir muttered, "Gondor needs no king."

Gandalf interrupted. "Aragorn is right. We cannot use it."

Elrond then looked to the rest of the council. "We have only one choice." Before I could even wonder what the choice could possibly be, he said, "The Ring must be destroyed."

The redheads dwarf the stood up, grabbing his ax. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, then ran toward the Ring, bringing his ax down upon it. The ax shattered, and the dwarf was thrown backward. The stupidity of dwarves was never to be underestimated. He was helped up by a few of his race. I looked at the Ring. It didn't even have a scratch.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed by any craft we have here, Gimli, son of Gloin," Elrond said, an amused expression on his face. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor, and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

Boromir pressed his hand to his temples. "One does not simply walk into Mordor," he said, "It's Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is a great evil there that never sleeps. The great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand me could you do this. It is folly."

I was getting angry again. This man was the stupidest person I had ever met. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond just said?" I said, my voice elevating as I stood up. "The Ring must be destroyed!"

Then the dwarf I had heard Elrond call Gimli stood up. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!" he shouted.

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

Gimli then shouted, "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Then, chaos erupted. The only thing anyone could understand between shouts was Gimli saying, "Never trust an Elf!"

Then, almost inaudibly, the hobbit said, "I will take it!" A little louder, he said, "I will take it!" Everybody turned around, shocked. Gandalf looked at Frodo sadly. "I will take the Ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way," Frodo said bravely.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins," Gandalf said, "as long as it is yours to bear."

"If in life or death I can protect you, I will," said Aragorn. "You have my sword."

Feeling inspired, I stepped forward. "And you have my bow." I must have gone mad. This was folly. However, I didn't travel all the way here to Rivendell for nothing.

"And my ax!" Gimli said, stepping forward.

"You hold the fate of us all, little one," Boromir said standing up, "If it is the wish of the council, Gondor will see it done."

Then, a hobbit with red hair stepped out of the bushes. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me!" he stated,macros sing his arms stubbornly.

"Indeed," Elrond said amused, "It seems hardly possible to separate you, even when he is separated to a secret council and you are not." The hobbit flushed, embarrassed.

Then, two brown haired hobbits jumped out from behind a pair of pillars. "We're coming too!" one said.

"Besides, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing." the other said. He sounded stupid, but probably because he looked to be the youngest of the hobbits. To a man, he would look to be about fourteen years of age.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," the first said quietly. The young hobbit started nodding, but then, realizing what his friend had said, stopped and glared at him.

"Nine companions," Elrond said. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

The young hobbit smiled excitedly. "Great!" he said, then looked confused. "Where are we going?" I shook my head and chuckled, then walked back to my room.