Finding Love in the Lord of the Rings

°°°°Chapter Eleven°°°°

Chapter Eleven

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A solid thud was heard throughout the room that the Fellowship was sleeping in. The noise echoed off the walls, starting off loud but then slowly faded away. Everyone drew their swords and were waiting for the attackers. Pippin was crouched over a hole, the size of his foot, with a horrified expression on his face.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf bellowed. "There are things down here that you do not want to wake up."

Pippin hunkered down at the wizard's harsh words. It turned out he had found the whole while sleeping and had dropped a rock down it to see how deep it was.

"Well," Gandalf said in a much calmer voice, "Now that we are all up we might as well get going."

After much grumbling everything had been packed and they kept on going. After almost another whole day of traveling they saw a blue light at the end of the hallway. Gimli ran ahead of them eager to see what laid in the room with the light.

"Gimli, wait!" Legolas called after the dwarf. Gimli ignored him and was soon engulfed in the light. When they reached the light they saw Gimli grieving over a tomb.

Ruins were engraved on the marble surface and Gandalf read aloud, "Here lies Balin, son of Hrundin. King of Moria." When he read this everyone went silent, purely out of respect.

"What's this?" Cody asked, picking up a large book. Gandalf snatched it from her and studied it for several moments.

"Can you read it Gandalf?" Frodo asked.

"Hm, it is torn in some places but I shall do my best. They have taken the bridge and the second hall. The ground shakes. We have barred the gates but we can not hold them for long. A shadow moves in the darkness. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They are coming."

Just then a metallic noise thundered through the room. Pippin had been studying a dwarf skeleton when he gently knocked it down the well it had been resting on. The bones bounced off the side of the well and dragged a long, metal chain down with it. When they hit the bottom the noise went through the whole castle.

"Peregrin Took, you will be the death of us all!" Gandalf boomed. Everyone stood in silence as they listened to the echoes fade away. As they stood there they soon heard a noise like thunder. A few seconds passed and it rolled out again. It began to get faster and faster until it was one big, unending noise that filled their ears.

Cody happened to look down and caught a glimpse of Frodo's sword. Blue light leaked out of it and shown onto his clothing.

"Frodo?" she choked, "What's in your sheath?" She knew the answer but she asked anyways. Frodo's head snapped down and his eyes were filled with fear. He pulled his sword partly out of the sheath to reveal a glowing blue sword.

"Orcs." he whispered.

The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder and were coming from the way they came.

"Block the door!" Gandalf ordered.

Legolas, Aragorn and Boromir began to barricade the door with old weapons such as axes and swords. An arrow was shot through the door, barely missing Boromir, and bounced harmlessly off the opposite wall. When the door was blocked the Fellowship backed up against the tomb that Gimli was now standing on.

"They may have gone through my cousin's entire army but there is one dwarf who they will not defeat!" he yelled out.

Suddenly, the feet and the drums stopped. The castle was silent once more except for the nervous breathing of the Fellowship. Then, the door was smashed open by a force that was much stronger than any orc.

"Great," Boromir said with a little sarcasm, "They have a Cave Troll."

Orcs swarmed in like bees swarmed to a hive. Legolas shot arrows as fast as he could at the first rank of orcs. Boromir, Aragorn and Gandalf charged forward with swords raised. Gimli hopped off the tomb and stormed towards the monsters with his mighty battle axe. The hobbits stayed back until the first orc reached them. Their fear had evaporated and they sprung into action. Cody and Frodo fought side by as orcs surrounded them.

Cody noticed that they did not attack her and when she slew an orc they gave her confused expressions. She ignored their looks and fought as if she was fighting for her life. In the midst of the battle Cody and Frodo got separated when the cave troll entered the room. It only went after Frodo and soon cornered him in a small spot. She tried to fight her way through to Frodo but Aragorn beat her to him.

The troll did not take an interest in the warrior and simply flicked him aside like an annoying fly that was buzzing around his ear.

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"Strider!" Frodo called to him, hoping to get a response. He shook his shoulder to try and wake him. The troll let out a hoarse call and the last thing Frodo saw was the bar that the troll used to kill him.

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"Frodo!" Cody screamed. The orcs, the hobbits, Gimli, Legolas and Boromir all seemed to be moving in slow motion as the troll sent the bar through Frodo. She watched as he let out a few feeble breaths and then collapsed on the floor face first.

"Nooooo!" she sliced her way through the orcs until she had reached Frodo's side. She rolled him over and the bar fell to the floor with a clink. His breathing was shallow and his head lolled back when she laid him on her lap. She paid no attention to what was going on around her. The orcs had retreated and Legolas had given the death blow to the troll.

"Frodo, please wake up. Please." she cried. Merry, Pippin and Sam stood there in disbelief as Frodo laid unconscious. Aragorn, who had woken up shortly after Frodo was stabbed, made his way to her side.

"We need to go." he said to her.

Cody looked at him with fear and told him, "I'm not leaving with out him."

"I know, I'll carry him." As Aragorn began to lift Frodo up when he stirred and muttered, "I'm fine, I'm okay."

"You're alive!" Cody rejoiced. She embraced him in a hug and planted a loving kiss on his forehead. "I thought I lost you." she cried.

"Did you think I would leave you?" he asked.

"No." she laughed.

"I think there is more to this than meets the eye." Gandalf said.

Frodo sat up and slowly parted his shirt to reveal white mail.

"Mithril." Gimli said in wonder, "You are full of surprises Mr. Baggins." They stared at Frodo's shirt in amazement until Gandalf said, "We need to get out of here quickly. To the bridge of Khazad-Dum, now!"

Cody helped Frodo up and together they raced down the halls and towards the bridge. When they neared it they heard a roar that stopped the Fellowship in their tracks. Slowly, they turned around to see a monster of both shadow and flames.

"A balrog." Gandalf said with fear.