The Lord of the Rings: The Banshee Queen

Chapter 7

Aragorn kissed his wife goodbye as she carefully mounted the elegant white horse and galloped away, servants and guards in tow as he stayed with us.
Everyone was finishing up their packing and fed the horses.
Dawn strapped a scabbard around her shapely waist and adjusted her flowing cloak.
"Frodo?" called Elrond.
I turned to look at him, seeing a vial dangling between his forefinger and thumb.
It was held by a silver chain and inside the glass was a red liquid.
"Hold out your hand for me."
Opening the palm of my hand, he gifted me with the vial.
"May I ask what this is, my Lord?"
"It is for a rather particular emergency. If you see Dawn start to twitch, immediately give her a drop of this," he explained.
"Here is more in case. Open your satchel for me please."
I refused to ask further questions though I was still puzzled and I watched him stuff my satchel with other red-filled vials.
"Hey!" yelled Sam, jogging towards us. "Why can't I join the others? I stayed with Mr. Frodo last time; I will stay with him again!"
Hearing him talk about joining the Fellowship again made me sigh and I placed my hands on his shoulders.
"Sam, you have to stay home. You have Rosie and your family to look after. Tell them that Dawn and I are off on another journey."
His green eyes were moist with tears, his corneas bloodshot.
It was going to be the one time Sam wasn't with me.
He always told me that he promised Gandalf that he wouldn't lose me.
"No, please, Mr. Frodo! I want to help you again!" he pleaded, his voice cracking.
I cupped his head in my hands and kissed his forehead.
There was a split second where I wanted to press my lips onto his mouth. All I did was embrace him, holding him tight. Sam was a part of me; we were whole together and knowing he would be home broke me, but he needed to take care of his family.
"I forbid you, Samwise Gamgee."
He snorted some snot back into his nose, wiping his face across his sleeve.
"Look after Miss Dawn," he added.

We were all ready to depart. We finished luncheon and the Elves packed us with many foods including lembas.
I had a bad experience with the bread during my last adventure, but the memory was too painful to bring up.
Grasping a walking staff, I stared out into the world.
Here I stood, with my companions behind me and my lover holding my hand.
I glanced back at Sam one last time. He was teary-eyed and restrained his sobs by grinning.
I smiled and announced, "Alright, everyone. Let us begin our new adventure."

We decided to take another route; one that didn't make us go through Moria again.
We trekked through the mountains, and we agreed to rest by a quiet trail near a waterfall.
Merry and Pippin were sword-fighting with Aragorn and Legolas stood by as a guard, a firm grip on his bow.
"I say," said Gimli, "it is refreshing to be reunited with all of you. It gets boring without seeing the rest of my old friends."
We all smiled at him. On the one hand, I truly didn't want to embark on another quest that will likely cost our lives. But on the other hand, it was pleasant to see them again.
Aragorn was King and Legolas and Gimli spent time with each other.
"We should've written letters then," Pippin suggested, his mouth full of fried salmon.
"Merry and I live in the same land as Frodo, Sam, and Dawn, so we don't entirely miss them, but I am surprised we never got any messages from anyone else."
"I did write to Gandalf," I commented. "He told me he wanted to surprise me."
Gandalf chuckled and continued to smoke on his pipe, resting against the large oak tree that became our temporary sanctuary.
"Speaking of which, where is Dawn?" asked Merry.
"Here I am," she declared, stepping out from behind the tree. "Apologies for scaring anyone; I had to"-
She covered her mouth and furrowed her brow.
"Relieve myself."
Gimli, Merry, and Pippin choked on their water, hacking from what Dawn said.
I flushed at the image.
I sat in the nook of the tree, smoking, and watching the sunset. The sky darkened to purple, streaks of pink and orange painting the horizon.
"I'm dead tired," she said, yawning.
I jumped down from the tree, feeling the same way.
"Legolas, will you be able to keep watch?" Aragorn queried, sharpening his long blade.
The Elf nodded once and kept his keen eyes on our surroundings.
"Everyone else, get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us," he remarked.
I followed Dawn and we crawled underneath a thin blanket.
She rested her head against my chest, careful as to not rub on the wound I carried.
I cradled her closer to me, my chin sitting on her head and whispered, "I love you, Dawn Starkin."