Hunter of the Rings

Chapter 6

Nearly two weeks had passed by for the newly assembled Fellowship of the Ring. Constantly travelling but taking the time to restock their supplied with whatever town or village that they passed through. Just like all of the days prior, the group rose from their bedrolls as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon; they wasted no time as they extinguished the fire, packed up their belongings and resumed their journey for the next few hours as they finally approached Caradhras, one of the snowy peaks in the Misty Mountains; Gandalf led the way up the mountain, explaining how there was a passage that would allow them to cut through and save them another day's worth of travel. As they climbed their way up the mountain, however, the temperature turned colder the higher they got; it wasn't long before a thick layer of snow covered the ground they walked on. And while it wasn't ideal for some, Maddie was completely mesmerized; she had never seen so much snow in one place before and happily picked up and made snowballs to throw at the others. Some laughed at her childish behaviour as they heard her giggle after feeling one of her "weapons" hit them while other grumbled; there were a rare few who even returned the attack, laughing as she either dodged it or ended up patting the snow off of her cloak. Shivering, Arwen complained about the temperature "how are you, Maddie?" she asked, earning a shrug from the girl as she assured that she was only a little cold; Legolas questioned how she wasn't as cold as most of them were "I lived on the streets for most of my life, remember? That included during the harshest of storms and Winters" she reminded. As the fifteen year old said this, however, she was distracted and lost her footing along the inclining snow covered ground; her back hit the cold, wet floor before sending her rolling down the steep mountain, unable to grasp onto anything in order to stop herself. Aragorn, to her luck, was only a couple of feet behind the group and quickly caught her; he gently lifted the teenager up and returned her to her feet, making sure she was stable before helping her rid her cloak, dress and hair of snow.

"Well, now I'm cold" Maddie shivered as her clothes and hair grew damp. Aragorn asked if she was alright, checking her for any scraps or cuts that she might have sustained from the fall; the young girl let out a breathe as she went to readjust her necklace "yeah, I'm fin-" but was cut off as her heart dropped upon feeling the missing pressure that came with wearing the thin chain around her neck. Maddie scanned the area around her, confusing the group as they watched her do so; it was as they saw her feet around her neck and chest that realisation hit them. The One Ring was missing! Both the teenager and the ranger looked around before their eyes trained where Maddie had fallen; it was where she had initially landed before their eyes landed on the missing item, only it was in Boromir's hand as he had reached down and picked it up. The man of Gondor stared, mesmerized by the ring as it dangled from the chain in his hand; Maddie was weary as she called the man's name, only for her voice to fall upon his deafened ears. "It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt" he mumbled out his thoughts "and for so small a thing". Boromir continued to stare at the ring as he held it close to his face, not caring about the stared he himself was receiving; Aragorn subtly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, prepared for anything that might happen. "Such a little thing" the man, in a trance like state, began to reach up with the preparation to grasp the One Ring in his gloved hand. "Boromir!" Aragorn exclaimed, snapping the fellow man out of his thoughts and preventing him from even touching the ring; Boromir's looked up sharply to the ranger, a faint look of annoyance and confusion gracing his face as he was told to return the ring to Maddie. The rest of the Fellowship, having been ahead of the three by a few feet, watched with an awkward and concerned intensity as Boromir stared at the young girl with a look of uncertainly as clear as day; he slowly approached her and held out the awaited object, only for Maddie to hold out her palm.

"As you wish" Boromir spoke, though his actions were stained with reluctance and hesitation as he placed the chain and ring into the girl's cold hand. As soon as he let go of the item, however, it was as if a weight had lifted from the man's shoulders; his voice sounded lighter as he spoke "I care not" with the high winds flying around them. Aragorn merely stared at the man, holding no opinion for him to see; Maddie matched the ranger's actions with ease as she tightly held onto her necklace. This, however, merely made Boromir chuckle as he reached out and ruffled her hair as if she were a small child; he turned his back to them, securing his shield to his back before joining the others who waited with patience. It was only once he was walking away that Aragorn released his grip on his sword; he patted the teenager on the shoulder as she returned the chain to around her neck, guiding her to continue forward. "Why didn't you just take the ring when he held it out for you?" the ranger wondered as he trekked up the mountain, the fifteen year old next to him as she was extra careful about where she walked "I wanted to...test him" she admitted, explaining how she had wished to see if Boromir would let the One Ring go, if he might try to either fight or run with it. While Aragorn thought it was reasonable, smart even, he warned the teenager to keep her distance from the Steward's son the best she could; Maddie smirked as she sent the man a raised brow "you don't trust him?" she asked, already knowing the obvious answer. Aragorn replicated the smirk with one of his own "do you?" he returned.