An Unexpected Romance

Lady of the Rings- Sneak Peak!

Lady of the Rings- Sneak Peak!

"I will take it!" Frodo interrupted boldly, his small shoulders set back bravely.

Every voice silenced, leaving only the echo of Frodo's proposition hanging above us.

"No." I said, shortly. "No, you will not."

"This is my duty, and I'm doing it." He said.

I sighed, wrestling with my common sense for a moment. "Then I'm going with you."

He blinked. "Really?"

I nodded. "Frodo Baggins, I will give my life to protect you. You have my sword."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aragorn take a step forward. He kneeled down before Frodo and bowed his head. "And mine as well, Master Hobbit."

"And my bow." Legolas stated.

"And my axe." Gimli grunted.

I was surprised when Boromir stepped forward. When he spoke, his voice was softer than I'd heard it. "You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council... then Gondor will see it done."

"It's settled. These six will take the Ring to Mordor." Elrond nodded thankfully.

"Of course, I will go, too." Gandalf added and smiled.

"H-hold on!" Came a familiar voice from behind us.

I turned just in time to see Sam popping out of the bushes. He stood in front of Frodo with his arms crossed.

"Mr. Frodo's not goin' anywhere without me." He said, leaving no room for an argument.

"Indeed, it seems impossible to separate you, even when he is summonded to a secret Council and you are not." Elrond tried to seem stern, but he was smiling.

I grinned at Sam's loyalty, then realized that this just meant one more person I needed to be worried about.

"We're coming, too!" I whipped around and saw Pip and Merry darting out from behind columns, running in our direction.

"You can't stop us, no way!" Merry decided.

"Interesting." Elrond said. "It seems that the curiosity of Hobbits never wavers."

Pippin cleared his throat, then set his shoulders back. "Yes, well, you need people of intelligence on this sort of.. Quest. Adventure. Thing."

Merry looked at him. "Well, that rules you out, Pip."

The smile dropped from my face when suddenly Pippin's light, curly locks were replaced with dark ones. He'd taken on a different shape entirely, and Merry had as well. Armor, beards, braids and swords.

I blinked once and the illusion was gone. It was just the Hobbits again.

I shook my head and and stood beside Gimli, placing one hand on Sam's shoulder. He smiled at me kindly and my heart ached a little.

"Well, here they are, these ten companions." Lord Elrond almost laughed. "The Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great!" Pip cried, then paused. "Where are we going?"