Queen of the Rings

Chapter 7.1

The house of Elrond was alight with gaiety and mirth. My father had been vexed by my duplicity in leaving Rivendell to seek the Shire, but so relieved was he by the result that his remonstrances fell away. Besides, his eyes were attuned to the veils of spirit, and he could see how I had suffered for my temerity. I spent several days recovering in my private rooms, taking no part in the festivities. The elves of Rivendell treated the hobbits like objects of celebration in themselves, mascots of a sort, little miracles. Though Elrond made certain that the Ring remained unspoken of, the tale of our flight from the Ring Wraiths was already being versified. Bilbo was foremost among the would-be poets, and he disturbed me in my convalescence on numerous occasions to elicit the story from my perspective. He had grown older, or seemed to, in the few weeks since my departure, and his gratitude at what I had done for Frodo was matched only by his sorrow at hearing what had been done to the Shire.

"All of them?" he asked. "Truly?"

"I have no idea," I said. "When we first arrived, all I sensed was death and poison, but we did not visit every corner and cottage. It is possible the Witch King only slew those he happened to come upon. The wraiths I fought numbered in the dozens, not the hundreds."

"There is hope then." Bilbo gripped one of my hands with both of his. The skin slid over his flesh like a paper covering.

"If he only wounded some," I said, "they would take days to die from corruption, not rising on that first night. Those lesser wraiths would haunt the Shire and whoever remained in it. Especially now, if there is no master to call them away."

The prospect of more wraiths loose in the already weakened Shire was too much for Bilbo, and he left me. I felt pity for him, but little more than that. Hobbits are barely longer-lived than humans, and their passing is like the passing of autumn leaves. Without the Ring to extend his life, Bilbo didn't seem long for this world. I chided myself for these callous thoughts, but without feeling.

One of the Nine Rings of Men was in my possession. It fit neatly over the pommel of the broken wraith blade.

Upon my arrival, Elrond and others had insisted on examining the Nazgul weapon, but in the eyes of the Wise, it had lost all power and therefore interest. The blade itself had rotted away to nothing so it could never be reforged, and the engravings on the hilt had lost all meaning. With the ring attached, I kept them hidden, and only examined them at night by means of reflected starlight. Not even my father knew that I had kept the ring, nor would he. It had not the weight or the domineering presence of the One, but the more I looked upon it the more I looked with admiration. It had been crafted by the hands of elves, by Celebrimor as well as lesser artisans, and yes, Annatar who was Sauron in disguise. The One Ring was alone in being unadorned, for the rings of Elves had been fashioned with Ruby, Sapphire, and Adamant. The dwarves' were decorated after the tastes of their kind, with gaudy and glittering stones. The Rings of men had each been set with an opal, as opals are said to magnify that which is ethereal in the bearer, and mortals could not normally accept the power Sauron offered them without acclimation, or the curse of immortality as a shade.

Elves are already immortal and had no need of such an enchantment. But could our souls be made the brighter? What about one such as myself, whose soul was scarred. Would wearing one of the Nine make me whole again?

I did not place it upon my finger. In any case, the lore was clear that to do so would be to invite the will of Sauron into my very being. But neither could I rid myself of the artifact, or bring myself to speak of it to Elrond. Instead, I kept it wrapped with the hilt in decorative strips of silk, and wore it under my sleeve like a charm. I couldn't leave it in my room. What if someone searched there, or the hobbits grew curious and took to snooping? I could not allow the chance. Better to keep it with me always.