~ Chapter Twenty Seven: We're Not Alone ~
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"You cannot pass!"
"Gandalf!"
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. Go back to the Shadow. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun! You shall not pass!"
"No!"
"Gandalf!"
"Fly, you fools!"
"No! Gandalf!"
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"Gandalf!"
Frodo hurriedly sits up, startled by his dream. He looks around at his surroundings, then at Esmeralda who had just woken up from beside him.
"What is it, Frodo?"
"Nothing. Just a dream."
Later, Frodo and Esmeralda scramble down the rocks using the rope given by Galadriel.
"Can ya see the bottom?" Esmeralda yells, looking down at Frodo.
"No! Don't look down, Esmeralda! Just keep going!"
Suddenly, Esmeralda slips and drops a small box.
"Oh no! Catch it Frodo!"
Frodo catches the box, but looses his footing and slips down the side of the slope.
"Frodo!" She screams, hurriedly climbing down.
"I think I've found the bottom." Frodo says, as Esmeralda sighs in relief.
A couple of feet before she hit the ground, the rope slipped from her hands. She fell on the hard ground, landing on her side.
"AH!" She shrieked.
"Woah! Careful!" Frodo said, as he brought her to her feet.
She holds onto his arm for balance, as she says,
"Bogs and rope, and goodness knows what. It's not natural. None of it."
She sighs, then lets go of Frodo, as he looks down at the box he caught.
"What's in this?"
"Nothin'." She replies, a little nervous. "Just a bit of Old Toby, in case if we ran out or somethin'."
"Old Toby?!" Frodo exclaimed, opening the box and taking a quick whiff. "You smoke? You're nineteen!"
With a sly grin, Esmeralda says, "I've always been one for bad habits, I suppose. So have you, accordin' to what Bilbo told me one time. You've been smoking for ten years now, right? So you were seventeen when you started, just like I was."
Frodo shook his head and laughed.
"Esmeralda. My dear Esmeralda."
"It's very special, that. It's the best tobacco in all the Shire."
"It is special." He says softly, closing the box. "It's a little bit of home."
YOU ARE READING
Halflings
FanfictionEsmeralda West moves into the Shire with her uncle, a few houses down from the Bagginses. As years pass, young Frodo tries to break her out of her shell. Then, Gandalf the Grey tells him about the One Ring. Esmeralda joins the quest with her friend...
