Red (The Hobbit Fan Fiction)

19. Wishes and Promises

            “Bilbo—”

            “Gandalf will get you and Thorin right again, and then we’ll continue on.”

            “Bilbo,” I said louder. This made him stop his rambling. I exhaled slowly. “Stop trying to act like things are okay. I know they aren’t.” My voice now shook.

            “Lily, they—”

            “No, they won’t be okay.” I inhaled sharply. “I know what’s going on. I’m…I’m dying.”

            There was no other way to address it. Bilbo was playing it off as though everything was just fine, when really, nothing was. I was dying, there was no sugarcoating it. The fact that I said those two words frightened me.

            Truly, I was scared of dying.

            “Don’t say that.”

            “Look at me!” I squeaked. “I’m a bloody mess! My arm and leg have nearly been torn off, you can’t stop the bleeding! It’s inevitable, Bilbo.” I rested my head against his chest. “I can’t cheat death.”

            “Sure you can. If you hold on just a bit longer, you can. Gandalf will heal you.”

            “I could be like you right now, trying to deny what’s really going on, but I’m not, though I really want to.” I laughed apathetically. “I’m terrified.”

            “Don’t be. Look at me.” Brown met brown. “You’ll be fine.”

            I sniffled, blinking back tears. “While I’m still here”—I was shocked Bilbo didn’t cut me off when I said that—“I want to know something.”

            “Anything.”

            “How did you get out of the caves before me? How did you disappear after I got you through that crack in the tunnels? I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second…”

            Bilbo’s eyes turned soft. I stared at him, waiting patiently, though I knew I couldn’t wait forever. Time wasn’t on my side at the moment.

            “Remember that thing the creature accused me of stealing?” I nodded. “Well.” He held his palm in front of my face—on it, a ring, very similar to my wedding band. “It has magical properties. When you pulled me through and I knocked into you, the ring escaped my pocket and I caught it on my finger. It made me invisible.”

            “That can’t be possible.” I swallowed.

            “But it is. How else could I have disappeared so suddenly, like you said?”

            “How could Gollum have that for so long?”

“You gave it a name?”

“I hated not calling it something, Bilbo.” I coughed, wincing. “I figured since he made that awful noise, that’s what I would call him. I wonder if he knew of its properties…”

            “We’ll never know, Lily.”

            “By the way, I didn’t appreciate you abandoning me like that.” My voice was briefly strong.

            “I’m sorry. If there had been a way to get you out with me, I would have. If something had happened to you in there, I would have never forgiven myself for leaving you.”