Queen of the Swords & Lord of the Rings (a LOTR fanfic)

To Know - Chapter 4 - Lifes shall be shaken

~Third person~

The Fellowship continued on slowly. The cold had gotten to most of them and was starting to take it's toll. Esme walked a few feet away from Frodo, to keep a close eye on him. The two were near the end of the line, with just Aragorn behind them. Boromir waked in front of them, making it easy for Esme to keep an eye on him too. The Halflings found it hard to work through the snow, and was deeper in the snow then the rest of them. The snow had started coming up to their upper legs while for the others the snow reached just under the knees, but for Esme and Legolas easily treaded on top the snow, barely sinking in.

The Hobbits took whatever strength they still had left in them and slowly waded in the snow. Frodo watched carefully where he put his foot in the snow, however he slipped and before Esme could reach him, he started to roll down the snow.

"Frodo!" Aragorn cried and stopped him before he could roll down any further. He pulled the Hobbit to his feet, and on instinct Frodo's hand instantly went up to his neckline, and Esme saw the sheer panic in his eyes when he found the Ring wasn't there. He turned to look for it, and Frodo relaxed when he saw the golden shine in the snow up ahead. He started to walk forward to claim it, but suddenly stopped when Boromir picked it up, Esme hadn't even noticed he slipped pass her.

"Boromir," Aragorn said in a warning fashion.

The Fellowship knew the Ring was starting to claim him, and knew he desired the Ring greatly. They agonizing and hesitantly watched the scene before him. Boromir held it by the chain and reached out himself with his gloved hand, to touch the ring itself.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt, over so small a thing. Such a little thing.." Boromir murmured in a trance. He could her the Ring whispering to him, beckoning him to put it on his finger. It whispered nice, sweet little things in his ear, enticing him by the second.

"Boromir!" Aragorn yelled at him, breaking him out of his trance. "Give the Ring to Frodo."

Aragorn and Esme both slowly snuck their hands to the hilts of their swords, beneath their cloaks.

"As you wish," Boromir laughed light-heartedly trying to ease some of the tension that hung heavily in the air.

"I care not.'' he returned the Ring to Frodo dropping it into his hand, who instantly slipped the chain over his head. Boromir ruffled the Hobbit's hair before turning away. Aragorn slipped his hand off his sword as the company continued on, but Esme however kept hers tightly wrapped around the hilt of hers.

Boromir was frightened, and his fear made his mind weak and vulnerable to Ring. And the Fellowship hoped that he had the strength to let it go.

~Esme's P.O.V~

The Fellowship walked on until late afternoon, when we stopped by a frozen lake to eat. I could see that everyone was glad that we had stopped to rest. I sat down on the snow with a heavy sigh and looked out over the lake. A light dusting of snow had covered the surface but you could still see the ice reflecting the blue sky above. Somewhere nearby, I heard Merry and Pippin debating whether the ice would be strong enough to hold their weight.

I wouldn't advise trying it," I told them. "If you fell through, there would be a little chanced of you surviving. If the cold doesn't kill you, then you would probably still drown, as it is almost impossible to find the hole you fell through, or to break the ice from underneath."