Finding Love in the Lord of the Rings

°°°°Chapter Fifteen°°°°

Chapter Fifteen

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Cody and Merry walked the perimeter of the clearing and didn't talk once. Cody didn't mind for she was admiring the beauty of Lothlórien. The trees were perfect, there were no broken branches or any kind of harmful fungus on them. She could sense that Merry desperately wanted to say something to her by the way he looked at the ground. She couldn't take it any longer, finally she just asked, "Do you need to tell me something?"

Merry looked up at her in surprise. He quickly shook his head and responded, "No." His cheeks turned the color of cherries as he tried to avert her gaze.

"Merry." she grabbed his arm gently so he could go no further. "You can tell me what's on your mind."

He gazed into her big, emerald eyes and everything spilled out. "Cody, we've known each other for a long time and by a long time I mean since we were little. I think we were what nine?" He was speaking so fast that his words mixing together.

"Merry." he kept going on about how they met. "Merry."

"And then we bumped,- What?"

"Please, just tell me what you have to say." she said softly.

He took a deep breath and his cheeks got several shades darker. "Okay." he murmured under his breath. "I love you Cody, more than anything. I will do anything to protect you."

Now it was Cody's turn to blush and looked at the ground. She felt soft finger tips lift her chin up ever so slightly and she was met by the dark brown pools of Merry's eyes. He drew her closer and she was mesmerized by his gentleness. At the last second she snapped back into reality and turned her head so he gently kissed her cheek. He drew back in a small state of surprise and tried to draw her back.

"No." she almost moaned. She put both of her hands on his chest and lightly pushed away from him. She looked at Merry and saw the disappointment that shone in his eyes. "I love you Merry. But I'm sorry that my kind of love is not the same as yours."

Merry collected himself just enough to say, "It's okay, I understand."

Cody walked away with her head bowed and her arms crossed, leaving Merry to stand alone.

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Frodo was going through their supplies at the center of the clearing. Haldir had shone him all of Lothlórien and beyond on the small grassy slope. A small flock of birds passed over the clearing calling out sweet songs to each other. He watched them disappear into the trees and his gaze came to rest on the very edge of the clearing.

His heart cried at the sight he saw; Merry was holding Cody's head in his hand. He pulled her closer and when they almost met Frodo turned his attention back to the supplies. His heart broke when he saw that. He loved her and he thought she loved him too.

'Obviously not if she is going behind your back with Merry.' a small part of him said. He tried to control the tears that welled up in his eyes. A single tear fell and landed on his hand that had been resting on a pack. After that tear followed another one and another tear followed that one.

He pulled the golden ring out from under his shirt and held it in front of his face. His hand slowly reached out to touch the Ring, to hold the Ring, to wear the Ring. He wished he could slip the Ring on and vanish from the spot.

He should have known all along that she liked Merry more than him. But another part told him that she really did love him, that it was a misunderstanding. He shoved that thought away and focused on the supplies once again.

-------------That's right I did!! ready? Team Frodo or Team Merry?! Leave what team you're on in the comments!:)------------------