Finding Love in the Lord of the Rings

°°°°Chapter Twelve°°°°

Chapter Twelve

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As the Fellowship made it safely across Gandalf stopped in the middle of bridge and turned to face the beast. He spread his arms out wide, his staff in one hand and his sword in the other and yelled at the balrog.

"You cannot pass!"

The creature burst into flames and drew out a fiery sword and took a step towards the bridge.

"I am a servant of the secret fires, wielder of the flames of Anor! Dark fire shall not pass avail you, flame of Udun!

The demon drew out a whip that crackled to life and cracked it in the air once.

"You, shall not, pass!" Gandalf hit the butt of his staff to the ground and where it hit a bright light flashed and drove the monster a few paces back. After it recovered it stepped onto the bridge where the structure collapsed. It gave out a cry of surprise and fell down the never ending hole. Gandalf let out a sigh of relief but when he turned to rejoin the Fellowship something grabbed his ankle.

The balrog had lashed its whip one last time and it met its mark. The whip wrapped around Gandalf's ankles and dragged him over the edge. At the last second Gandalf grabbed a hold of the collapsed bridge and tried to climb back up.

"Gandalf!" Frodo cried and went to go help the wizard. Boromir held him back though for when he stepped foot on the bridge it began to crack like ice that lays on water. Gandalf was too weak from his spell and when all seemed lost he called out, "Fly you fools!" His part of the bridge shuddered and crumpled like dust. Gandalf tumbled into the darkness with the beast.

"Noooo!" Frodo screamed. He blindly stumbled to the ground out of grief and began calling Gandalf's name. Cody sunk down and cradled him in her arms and began to hum their lullaby. He buried his face in her shoulder and soaked her shirt with his tears.

The Fellowship watched as she comforted him and grieved just as he was. Pippin used his scarf to wipe his eyes but Merry and Sam let their tears hit the dusty ground. Legolas and Gimli stood dumbfounded and looked at the spot in which Gandalf had only just been in a few moment ago. Boromir and Aragorn were battling something out but their words were quiet.

Finally, Aragorn called out, "We need to get out of here." Everyone filed out of the mountain except for Cody and Frodo. They sat in the same spot, in each others arms, until Aragorn came back for them. He picked Frodo up, who refused to stand, and half lead half carried Cody out as well.

When they had left the dark mines Cody blinked in the blinding light. The light reflected off of the dazzling snow that covered the mountain top and her pupils had been big in the mines so she could see through the darkness. Aragorn set them down on a flat rock that poked out of the snow and went to go study the landscape before them. When she felt the cool, smooth stone under her she curled into a ball and wept. The shock was gone and her body trembled as the warm tears trickled down her face.

She looked up once to see the other hobbits laying on the ground in grief. She noticed that Frodo was no longer beside her and was no where to be seen. She bolted up in fear that he had wandered back into the mines. As she sat up she saw him a ways away, standing at the very edge of a cliff, holding something out in his hand. When she approached him he began to talk to her in a small voice.

"I wish the Ring had never come to me." he said looking down at the band of gold in his hand.

"As do all say in times like this." she responded to him.

He turned around to face her and had a grieving, yet far away, look in his eyes. "We should have never come here at all. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault." she told him, though she did not quite know what he was talking about.