An Olympian's Daughter

Through fire and water

Frodo and Sam stand upon a hill.  "Mordor. I hope the others find a safer route." Frodo says light with hope, "Strider will look after them." Sam encourages. "I don't suppose we'll ever see them again." "We may yet, Mister Frodo. We may." Frodo turns, smiling "Sam, I'm glad you're with me." Frodo walks onwards. Sam stands for a moment, and then follows down a rocky slope. The two hobbits begin their trek towards Mordor.

Beneath the Misty Mountains, Gandalf's voice is heard in the background.
 "You cannot pass!" Gandalf shouted "Gandalf!"  "I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor...Go back in to the shadow. The dark fire will not avail you! Flame of Udûn!" Gandalf and the Balrog face one another on the bridge of Khazad-dûm.  Gandalf shouts with more power stabbing both sword and staff into the rock landing "You — shall not — pass!"

The bridge breaks, causing the Balrog to fall. Gandalf sighs, and turns around, but the whip of Balrog catches his ankle, and he is pulled down. He grabs onto the edge of the bridge, but cannot keep his grip. Boromir grabs Frodo to stop him from running back onto the bridge. "No! No!" Boromir hand gasped keeping tight hold of Frodo "Gandalf!" "Fly you fools! Gandalf loses his grip and falls. "No!" Frodo shouts one more time. 

Gandalf falls after the Balrog and grabs Glamdring, his sword, on his way down. Gandalf hacks at the Balrog, as they continue falling. They fall into a spacious cavern and into water. Frodo awakes with a start.

"Gandalf!" Frodo wakes throwing himself up into a sitting position.  "What is it Mister Frodo?" Sam whispers out still groggy with sleep  "Nothing. Just a dream." Frodo ushers his friend. Frodo, followed by Sam, repel down a cliff.  "Can you see the bottom?" Sam asks "No! Don't look down, Sam! Just keep going!" Frodo yells back up. A box falls from Sam's pocket "Oh! Catch it! Grab it, Mister Frodo!" Frodo grabs the box, but slips and falls. "I think I've found the bottom." Frodo kind of chuckles. Sam reaches the bottom. "Bogs and rope, and goodness knows what. It's not natural. None of it." Sam jeers.

"What's in this?" Frodo asks "Nothing. Just a bit of seasonin'. I thought maybe if we was having a roast chicken one night or somethin'." Sam says bashfully  "Roast chicken?" Frodo shreeks  "You never know." "Sam! My dear Sam." "It's very special, that. It's the best salt in all the Shire."  "It is special. It's a little bit of home." Frodo examines the hanging rope. "We can't leave this for someone to follow us down." "Who's gonna follow us down here, Mister Frodo? It's a shame really. Lady Galadriel gave me that. Real Elvish Rope. Well, there's nothing for it. It's one of my knots. Won't come free in a hurry." Sam says in confidence,  Sam tugs on the rope. The knot loosens and the rope falls around the Hobbits.  "Real Elvish rope?" Frodo looks at the rope in question. 

Frodo and Sam are walking on rocky terrain. They stop to look into the distance.  "Mordor. The one place in Middle-Earth we don't wanna see any closer. It's the one place we are trying to get to. It's just where we can't get. Lets face it Mister Frodo. We're lost. I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way."  "He didn't mean for a lot of things to happen Sam. But they did." Frodo sees the Eye of Sauron. Frodo falls down, panting. Sam cries as he sees his friend fall, "Mister Frodo? It's the Ring, isn't it?"

 "It's getting heavier." Frodo pants, he clutches the Ring, then takes a sip from his canteen. "What food have we got left?"  "Well, let me see." Sam takes out a package from his backpack. "Oh yes, lovely. Lembas bread. And look! More Lembas bread." Sam breaks off a piece and tosses it to Frodo. They both eat. Sam jokes "I don't usually hold to foreign food, but this elvish stuff, it's not bad." "Heh, nothing ever dampens you spirits, does it Sam?" Frodo says gentle like. Sam looks up. "Those rain clouds might." The hobbits huddle in the night rain. They continue walking through the rocky terrain. Sam looks around confused "This looks strangely familiar."

"Because we've been here before. We're going in circles." Frodo says growing thin in his patience "Uh! What's that horrid stink? I wonder if there's a nasty bog nearby. Can you smell it?"  "Yes, I can smell it." Frodo turns to look at Sam, giving him a meaningful look. "We're not alone." he whispers, the  hobbits are sleeping as a  figure climbs down from above them.  "You thieves! You thieves... You filthy little thieves! Where is it? Where is it? They stole it from us. My Precious." Gollum creeps closer. "Curse them! We hates them! It's ours it is... and we wants it!" the creature spits and hisses. Gollum reaches out his hand towards the hobbits. The hobbits jump up and grab Gollum's arms and pull him down. They struggle. Gollum gets loose and jumps on Frodo. They fall, and Gollum sees the Ring around Frodo's neck.]

He desperately tries to get it, but Sam grabs him. Gollum wriggles loose once more, and jumps on Frodo again. Sam gets a hold of him. Gollum bites him on the shoulder, and clasps his arms and legs around Sam. Frodo draws Sting and holds it to Gollum's throat. "This is Sting. You've seen it before, haven't you — Gollum!" "Yes." the pitiful creature moans,  "Release him, or I'll cut your throat!" Frodo roars. Gollum slowly loosens his grip on Sam and lets out a wail. It is light again. Gollum has been tied at the neck with Sam's rope and is dragged along.

Gollum howls as he is dragged along behind Sam "It burns! It burns us! It freezes! Nasty elves twisted it. Take it off us!"  "Quiet you!" Sam hisses at him  "It's hopeless! Every orc in Mordor is gonna hear this racket! Let's just tie him up and leave him!" Gollum cries out "No! That would kill us, kill us!" Sam looks down on the thing called Gollum "It's nothing more than you deserve!" Frodo looks at Gollum. "Maybe he does deserve to die. But now that I see him, I do pity him."

Gollum pleads with Frodo "We'll be nice to them, if they'll be nice to us. Take it off us. We swears to do what you wants. We swears!" "There's no promise you can make that I can trust." Frodo says looking down on Gollum. Gollum kneels in front of Frodo and begs him. "We swears to serve the Master of the Precious. We will swear on — on the Precious! gollum gollum" He spits 

Frodo looks with frowned brows at the creature "The Ring is treacherous. It will hold you to your word." Gollum cries out again in oath  "Yes... on the Precious... on the Precious." Sam looks unmoved by the creatures word "I don't believe you! Get down! Get down!" Gollum, scared, tries to get away, but Sam jerks the rope and Gollum crashes to the ground. "Sam!" Frodo calls out Sam yells "He's trying to trick us! We let him go, he'll throttle us in our sleep!" Frodo approaches Gollum, who is panting and holding his throat. "You know the way to Mordor?" Frodo asks him in which he answers  "Yes." Frodo asks again "You've been there before?" the answer the same as before,  "Yes." Frodo takes the rope off Gollum's neck, and Gollum seems surprised. "You will lead us to the Black Gate." Frodo states orderly.  Gollum rushes off and the hobbits follow him. Gollum talks to himself. "To the Gate, to the Gate! To the Gate, the masters says. Yes! No! We won't go back. Not there. Not to him. They can't make us. Gollum! Gollum! But we swore to serve the master of the precious! No. Ashes and dust and thirst there is, and pits, pits, pits. And Orcses, thousands of Orcses. And always the Great Eye watching, watching."

Gollum looks at the hobbits and screams. Gollum disappears. Sam howls after the creature "Hey! Come back now! Come back! There! What did I tell you? He's run off, the old villain. So much for his promises." Gollum reappears. "This way Hobbitses! Follow me!"