I nearly fainted from my frantic heart. How could he have the nerve to barge into Bag End and leave the place so eerie? Did he think it wouldn't freak Frodo and me out in the slightest?
The intruder hadn't been anyone to be afraid of, it was only Gandalf. However, this wasn't some friendly visit he was on; the look in his eyes said that much.
"Is it secret?" he demanded in a harsh whisper. "Is it safe?"
Frodo and I knew what Gandalf was talking about: the ring.
Frodo nodded, bounding off to a chest, digging. In the meantime, I lit up Bag End; I hated having the place so spooky. I got a fire going even though I didn't know why I did at such a late hour.
When I came back, Frodo had tossed out junk from a chest, retrieving the envelope. Gandalf grabbed it, darting for my freshly made fire. Frodo and I tailed the old Wizard, reaching him just as he bent down and tossed the envelope—and the ring—into the fire. Frodo looked to Gandalf, panicked. I just stared into the fire, agape.
"What are you doing?" Frodo called.
"Look," I whispered, getting his attention.
The envelope burned, shriveling into a black ball of ash. As it burned away into nothing, the ring remained.
Gandalf grabbed a long pair of tongs, reaching through the flames to retrieve the ring. Just what was the old Wizard up to?
My eyes were stuck on the ring held by the tongs.
"Hold out your hand, Frodo," Gandalf said calmly. "It's quite cool."
Frodo obeyed, letting the ring drop into his hand.
"What is the point of this?" I asked Gandalf.
"You'll see, but it'll depend on if I'm right. Frodo, what can you see?" Gandalf rose but looked uncomfortable standing. "Can you see anything?"
I shot an odd look at the Wizard.
I peered over Frodo's shoulder, wondering if I could see something he couldn't. Frodo turned the ring, checking every aspect of it. I huffed. There was nothing but the gold of the ring.
Gandalf had officially gone insane.
"Nothing," Frodo said after a while. "There's nothing." My eyes flickered to Gandalf, who ambled a few paces away. "Wait." My eyes snapped back to Frodo. I looked down at the ring and blinked rapidly, stunned.
Small markings began to form all around the ring, glowing. Frodo turned it. The markings were bright, like the fire. I couldn't understand any of it.
"There are markings," Frodo reported. "It's some form of Elvish. I can't read it."
"Gandalf, what's the meaning of all this?" I demanded, my voice a little hysterical.
"I'll explain, Marlena. Please, calm down," Gandalf said quietly. "There are few who can read the language. The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here."
"Mordor!" Frodo and I gasped, glancing at Gandalf. I vaguely remembered hearing about that land. It was an evil place. There was also something about an evil ruler that lived there as well, but my mind was fuzzy on the specifics.
I stared at the ring, at the markings. A language from Mordor? No wonder Gandalf wouldn't utter it; the language was created in a place of evil. Even I wouldn't say the words if I knew what they were.
"In the common tongue," Gandalf started, "it says: 'One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.'"
"How about we sit down?" I suggested in a squeaky voice. "Maybe I'll make up some tea?"
Neither Frodo nor Gandalf made any objections. I scurried into the kitchen and prepared some tea, trying to make my anxiety disappear. It wasn't working very well.
Frodo and Gandalf sat at the table, the ring made itself home on the wood of the furniture. I now despised that object more than ever before. If it came from a foul place, I didn't want it in the house, or in the Shire. It could go back to Mordor for all I cared.
"This is the One Ring," Gandalf explained. "Forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. Taken by Isildur from the hand of Sauron himself."
"It sounds like such a lovely place," I said sarcastically as I poured some tea. My hands trembled a little bit.
Frodo looked at me worriedly. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." I sat down next to Frodo after I gave up on pouring tea. I poked at an apple near me, trying to prevent myself from staring at the ring at the opposite end of the table.
"Bilbo found it," Frodo murmured. "In Gollum's cave."
"What's this?" I asked.
"That's where the ring was for a long time. A creature had it until Bilbo found it."
"I wish it had stayed with the creature, then."
"For sixty years, the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping," Gandalf said, "prolonging his life, delaying old age. But no longer."
I thought Bilbo looked young to be 111. So, this ring could slow down aging. A Hobbit aged differently enough as it was. I couldn't imagine slowing down aging more.
"Evil is stirring in Mordor," Gandalf went on. "The Ring has awoken. It's heard its master's call."
"You make it sound like it's alive," I snorted. "Gandalf, it's a ring. A ring can't do anything. It can't move around, and it certainly can't heed its master's call."
"Marlena, do you not know of the world you live in?"
"Are you suggesting there's magic involved with this ring? Forget I asked," I said quickly. "Didn't you say it was stolen from Sauron himself?"
"He did," Frodo agreed. "But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed."
All was silent, minus an odd hissing coming from the opposite end of the table—the Ring. Curious, I slunk to the side of the table, listening. I glared at the evil piece of jewelry. I felt the urge to grab the nearest object and beat it, as if it was a spider on the table.
"No, Frodo," Gandalf sighed. "The spirit of Sauron endured. His life force is bound to the Ring, and the Ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied. His fortress at Barad-dûr is rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness.
"He is seeking it. All his thought is bent on it. For the Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord." Gandalf leaned forward slightly, to emphasis a point. "Frodo, Marlena, he must never find it."
"All right, then," I said, grabbing the object in question. I went out of the kitchen, searching for a good place to hide the blasted thing. "We put it away. We keep it hidden. We never speak of it again. After all, no one knows it's here, do they?"
I was answered by silence. I turned to see Gandalf standing in the way, Frodo at his side. Frodo and I stared at Gandalf.
"Do they, Gandalf?" My voice was a hesitant whisper.
The emotion in the Wizard's eyes told me that someone did know.
"There is one other that knew Bilbo had the Ring," Gandalf confessed. "I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum. But the enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him. But amidst the endless screams and inane babble, they discerned two words: 'Shire.' 'Baggins.'"
"Shire," I squeaked, feeling a lump form in my throat.
"Baggins," Frodo whispered distantly. He and I exchanged a frightened look.
The thought clicked in my head in one second. "But that would lead them here!" I stared at the ring. There was no way Frodo and I could have possession of this evil object, not if that creature gave away our name and homeland. I held out the ring in Gandalf's view. "Take it, Gandalf!" The old Wizard backed away, as if I was threatening to brand him. "Take it!"
"No, Marlena," he said.
"You must take it!" Frodo piped.
"We don't want it!" I cried.
"You cannot offer me this ring!" Gandalf bellowed.
"We're not offering!"
"We're giving it to you!" Frodo said.
"Don't tempt me, you two!" Gandalf roared. Frodo and I jumped at the Wizard's ferocious tone. I lowered my arm, keeping the Ring in my clenched hand. "I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe."
"Why?" I whimpered.
"Understand, you two, I would use this Ring from a desire to do good. But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine."
"But it cannot stay in the Shire!" Frodo said.
"No. No, it can't," Gandalf agreed.
"Hold on a second, Gandalf," I said. "This was given to Frodo, yes?"
"Yes, Bilbo left it to Frodo."
"Then what must I do?" Frodo said.
"Well, there's only one thing you can do."
"And that is?"
I said it before Gandalf did: "Leave." If there were people coming for the Ring, then Frodo needed to flee. My heart clenched at the idea of him leaving. "There's no other choice. You're not safe here."
Frodo understood. He ran through the house, Gandalf walked behind him. I snapped myself out of this daze I was in, joining them. Frodo tossed in clothes in a rucksack. I felt a vague sense of déjà vu. First Bilbo left, and now Frodo was going too.
"You must leave, like Marlena said," Gandalf seconded. "And leave quickly."
"Where?" Frodo asked. "Where do I go?"
"Get out of the Shire. Make for the village of Bree."
"Bree," Frodo murmured. "What about you?"
"I'll be waiting for you at the inn of the Prancing Pony."
Frodo pushed between Gandalf and me, heading for the pantry. I could hear him stuffing food in the sack. I hoped he didn't empty the pantry; I still needed food to eat.
"And the Ring will be safe there?" I heard Frodo call.
"I don't know, Frodo," Gandalf said, disappearing as well. I ambled back out towards the fireplace, the Ring still in my hand. I wished I could chuck it into the fire, but I knew it wouldn't destroy it. It wouldn't keep Frodo from leaving. "I don't have any answers. I must see the head of my order. He is both wise and powerful. Trust me, Frodo. He'll know what to do."
Frodo came back with a full rucksack. I fetched him his coat and helped him quickly put it on.
"You'll leave the name of Baggins behind you," Gandalf instructed, standing in the threshold. "That name is not safe outside of the Shire." I tossed Frodo his cloak and helped him adjust it. "Travel only by day. And stay off the road." Gandalf tossed Frodo a stick almost as tall as him, something to use as a crutch, I suppose, if he got tired.
"I can cut across country easily enough. Marlena, hand me the Ring," Frodo said. I put it in his hand (though a reluctant feeling tugged on my heart), and he tucked it into a small pocket in his clothes.
I held back the tears and sobs that threatened to overtake me. This was more painful than Bilbo's departure. I actually knew why Frodo was leaving, and I was helping him.
I was going to be left alone in Bag End.
"My dear Frodo," Gandalf said warmly. "Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month. And yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you."
A crack outside the window interrupted the moment.
"Get down," Gandalf barked.
Frodo yanked me down with him. Gandalf fetched his staff, inching towards the open window behind the desk. I grabbed Frodo's hand, nervous. He tried to reassure me with a squeeze.
Gandalf pushed his staff out the window, jabbing at something. Frodo and I heard a yelp. Gandalf reached half out the window only to pull someone in.
Sam was thrown into the desk, Gandalf towered over him menacingly. Rarely had I seen Gandalf look so...serious. Tonight, I saw a side to the old Wizard I never imagined to see. What puzzled me even more was how Sam acted normal, like he hadn't been that drunk long ago. Maybe he hadn't been as drunk as I suspected.
"Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee!" Gandalf shouted. "Have you been eavesdropping?"
"I haven't been dropping no eaves," Sam sputtered. "Honest. I was cutting the grass under the window."
I rose, pulling Frodo up with me. "A little late for trimming the verge, don't you think?" I asked.
"I heard raised voices," Sam explained.
"What did you hear?" Gandalf demanded. "Speak!"
Sam quaked under Gandalf's commanding tone. "Nothing important. That is, I heard a good deal about a ring, a Dark Lord and the end of the world but—Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me. Don't turn me into anything...unnatural."
"No?" Gandalf looked at Frodo and me. "Perhaps not." He looked at Sam. "I've thought of a better use for you."
"What might that be?"
"Frodo needs an escort," I said. "He's leaving the Shire because of the ring you overheard about. I know what Gandalf is thinking; he won't let Frodo go alone. I won't have it either."
"Hold on a second," Frodo interrupted. "What about you, Marlena? You can't stay here in the Shire either."
"Couldn't I?"
"Of course she could," Sam said, sitting up. "She's adopted. She can just use her last name to hide herself. Problem solved."
"See?" I raised an eyebrow in triumph.
"Actually, problem not solved," Gandalf said. "More than likely if those who are coming for the Ring ask for any Baggineses, they'll get Marlena's name too." He looked at me gravely. "The Shire is not a safe place for you, either."
I was an idiot for not thinking of my own safety. Gandalf was thinking realistically, and the situation he gave us seemed like it would happen. The Wizard did make a point; I was no safer here in the Shire than Frodo was.
We both needed to leave.
"But she can't come with me!" Frodo fretted. "I'd rather her go into hiding than come along."
Now that I took offense to. "You would rather risk me being caught here in the Shire?" I barked, hands on my hips. "That's a bad idea! And why shouldn't I leave with you and Sam?"
"You know I want what's best for you, and leaving with me wouldn't be best," Frodo said gently.
"Did you not hear what Gandalf just said, Frodo?" I asked flatly.
"I did."
"Then listen. Gandalf is right; I'm not safe here, either. I bet some people would rather risk my neck than theirs just to keep themselves safe, the cowards. I'd be better off going along with you and Sam."
"Marlena." Frodo was acting like a whiny child who wasn't getting what he wanted. "I want to keep you safe."
"And you will when I go with you, I have no doubt of that." Frodo shot me an exasperated look. "Bilbo left, you're not leaving me too."
"But this ring—I'm sure the journey to the Prancing Pony won't be easy."
"Frodo, you can't sway me."
"I'm not trying to, I'm just stating fact."
"And I have no doubt that you're right," I agreed. "But I would rather go with you than risk hiding in the Shire where I could be found and either tortured or killed. Would you want that fate for me, Frodo? Could you live with the guilt, knowing that I could've been saved if I went with you?"
"That's not a nice card to play, Marlena." Frodo grimaced.
"I've got no choice." I crossed my arms.
Frodo sighed, defeated.
There was no way I was going to stay in the Shire if the name Baggins was a beacon for those who wanted to find the Ring and bring it back to Sauron. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd no longer view the Shire a safe place.
"That settles it, then," I declared. "I know the road won't be easy, but I'm sticking with you, Frodo, no matter what happens."
"This is a side I've never seen of you," Frodo admitted. "Where did it come from?"
"You don't see it often. I'm here for you, just like you're here for me." I grabbed his hand.
"Well, I must say, I'm glad you agree with me, Marlena, on you going along," Gandalf said seriously.
"It's sometimes better to run from danger than face it head-on. So, when do we leave?"
"We leave at dawn."
Judging by what time I estimated it to be in the night, we didn't have many hours of sleep to catch.