to love someone else

Chapter 4: progress

"Mordor, Gandalf. Is it left or right?" Frodo whispered urgently as they left Rivendell. "Left," Gandalf whispered back, hand clutching Frodo's left shoulder.

Slowly, the Fellowship made its way out of Rivendell, following Frodo and Gandalf. The two spoke quietly, taking care that none of the others could hear them, save for Legolas who chose not to pay attention to their words. Instead, he and Aragorn discussed the orc parties that had been seen making their way south. Towards the front, the other three Hobbits were chatting animatedly about their time spent in Rivendell. Aerin, Gimli and Boromir were silent.

Soon they had left Rivendell behind. They traveled close to the Misty Mountains, staying in the rocky foothills. Aerin said it would be far easier to conceal their tracks the closer they stayed to the mountains. No one dared disagree with her; they were all thinking of what would happen if the enemy caught them.

The first few days were tense. Gimli loudly proclaimed the mistreatment his father had received at the hands of the Elves during the quest to reclaim Erebor. Frodo thought he saw the glimmer of a smile on Legolas' face each time Gimli complained and he remembered what Bilbo had said about the capture of Thorin's company. It wasn't like Legolas was much better, though, as he often made snide remarks regarding Gimli's lack of woodland skills.

This continued until Gandalf pointed out that Legolas would be hopelessly lost in a mine, causing Gimli to guffaw until Gandalf turned his attention to the Dwarf, reminding him that Thorin's company would not have been captured had they stayed on the path. Gimli subsided into sullen mutterings.

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin seemed to treat the whole thing as some sort of grand holiday. They cracked jokes, positively howling with laughter. They ignored Aragorn's warnings, scampering away from the Fellowship and over the rocks until Boromir was forced to retrieve them. The two liked to pull pranks, which wouldn't have been bad if it weren't for their habit of pushing the others past the point of laughter into irritation. Perhaps it was their way of dealing with the strain of their quest but Gandalf was finally forced to put his foot down after Gimli threatened to silence Pippin with his axe.

"Like herding cats," Gandalf muttered more than once.

Sam kept a close watch on Frodo. Before they'd left Rivendell, Gandalf had pulled him aside to tell him to keep an eye on the Ringbearer.

"The Ring will take a toll on Frodo," he said.

"I'll take care of him," Sam promised.

Even now, though, barely after setting out, Sam could see that Gandalf was right. Frodo ate less, slept less. It was subtle and so perhaps it wasn't obvious to the others, but Sam knew Frodo better than Frodo knew himself. Already, the Ring was beginning to work its magic on him.

All told, the first few days after setting out on the quest were not happy ones. By their third day on the road, even Merry and Pippin had become withdrawn and unhappy. "We need to do something," Aragorn told Gandalf quietly as they set up camp that night. Gandalf looked surprised. "We can't go on like this," he continued, motioning to the Hobbits. "Merry and Pippin will lose heart and Frodo- Frodo needs hope if he is to continue with his burden."

"What do you suggest?" Gandalf suggested.

Aragorn turned to the Hobbits, his expression turning thoughtful. Merry and Pippin, in their boredom, had taken to throwing rocks at each other. He was surprised to see that their aim was excellent. Briefly, he considered asking Legolas to teach them to shoot. But he discarded that idea. Too well did he remember Legolas teaching him to shoot and how they had started by spending hours sitting still, blindfolded, until he could hear everything around him. It would not suit Merry and Pippin at all.

His gaze fell on Boromir. Now there was an idea that could work, he thought.

"Boromir," he called, motioning him over with his head. "How would you feel about training the Hobbits?"

Boromir glanced at the four, keen eyes seeing the boredom in Merry and Pippin and the thinly veiled frustration in Sam. "Would certainly be the most unusual students I've ever had," he murmured. He turned back to Aragorn. "But not the first." Aerin rolled her eyes at him. They had only known each other for a couple of days but she already despised him.

He stood back up, drawing his sword, and began putting himself through his paces. Merry and Pippin stopped throwing rocks at each other, distracted from their game. Sam looked up from the dinner preparations. Even Frodo seemed mildly interested in what Boromir was doing.

"On your feet," he told the Hobbits. They looked mildly surprised. "Come on," he urged them.

"Why?" Pippin asked.

"Why?" Boromir repeated. "There's an army of orcs between us and Sauron. You want to be ready, don't you?"

Merry and Pippin leapt to their feet. This was far more exciting than sitting around. Frodo followed them almost reluctantly. Sam looked more than a little regretful that he was going to have to sit out but, after all, he had done supper every night until now.

Aerin came up beside him. "You join them, laddie," she told Sam. "I've got this." Sam threw her a grateful look as he got to his feet. "Will you really be able to teach us?" he asked, joining the small circle around Boromir. "We're not like your usual group of soldiers."

"Nonsense," Boromir said, correcting Merry's stance. "You're not much taller than my brother was when I first started training him."

"You have a brother?" Pippin asked. Boromir nodded. "Faramir," he said, more than a hint of pride in his voice. Pippin grinned. "Is he like you?" "Not in the slightest," Boromir laughed. "And he is much better for it, I'm sure." Aragorn and Aerin watched the four Hobbits and Boromir, smiling. Boromir seemed to naturally have a way with the Hobbits that even Gandalf didn't have.

"That was neatly done," a voice said in his ear. Aragorn turned to see Legolas crouching beside him. He quirked an eyebrow, inviting the Elf to explain further. "Not many would have known how to help them," he continued, gesturing toward the Hobbits. "It was very- very kingly of you." Aragorn shot him a sharp look. Legolas glanced down, sporting a small smirk.

"Legolas is right, you know," Gandalf said from his other side. "It's not a common skill. I'll wager your father taught you?" His last words were directed at Legolas, who inclined his head in agreement. "Your father?" Sam asked, distracted from his lesson. He wondered if they'd met his father in Rivendell. "Who's your father?" "Thranduil of Mirkwood," Legolas replied. Gimli snorted but Boromir paused in his instruction.

"Not King Thranduil?" he asked. He'd never met the man but his brother had. He'd returned from Mirkwood, in awe of the Elf King's negotiating skills- which he said consisted of a single raised eyebrow, at which everyone hastened to do his bidding. Legolas nodded, a wry smile on his face. "The same." Sam looked impressed but Gimli growled, "Oath breaker." The rest of the Fellowship chose to ignore him except for Aerin who shoved her fist into his ribs, causing him to squeal. "That wasn't very nice Gimli."

"Come on," Boromir urged, drawing attention back to him. "We've got quite a bit of training to do if we're to make warriors out of you."

....

Not too later, darkness seemed to spread across the sky and one by one the Fellowship began to go to sleep all except two.

Aerin walked over to Frodo. "Trouble sleeping?" He nodded and sat up. Aerin gazed up at his small form, the weight of the world on his shoulders; it seemed unfair that such a burden is being carried by someone so delicate and small. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the little Hobbit.

"Do you want to talk about it?"Aerin asked as Frodo sighed at her wistfully. She nodded and said lightheartedly, "If only I could sing like those other elves, I would be singing a lullaby to you!" Aerin chuckled, but Frodo asked her something. "Can you sing something?" This request took Aerin of her guard; her singing talent was as far as singing in the bathroom or in the shower. However seeing the smile creep on Frodo's face, Aerin gave in and sang the lullaby that her mother used to sing her, bringing tears to her eyes.