The Scars of a Loyal Traitor

Guilt, Greif, and Loneliness

I cantered back the next morning with Elladen bouncing behind me. We only had room for two of us on my horse's back so I left Elladen in charge of the army. It had taken us 6 hours to walk away from the Shire but now we could get there in just one. I was mentally preparing myself for what I was going to see but guilt overwhelmed me, stopping me from seeing the truth. The first thing I saw when we arrived was smoke and ash. There was nothing left but that. The green rolling hills were now black lumps of earth and the hobbit holes were caves of ash. There was nobody around but I didn't call out. Instead, I rode to Bagend, the oak tree was just a burning stump and the green door was gone. I crept inside, Elladen behind m. The windows were all smashed and the front walkway burnt. The further I walked down the hall I realised that the fire had been at the front door leaving the back of the house untouched. Untouched by fire anyway. The rest of the house had been stripped of valuables and nearly all the furniture was in dissaray.
"What happened here?" I muttered. When nobody answered I turned around to see Elladen kneeling with a sword to his throat. The sword belonged to none other then Robin Gamgee.
"What are you doing?" I asked confused. "Let him go!"
"I think not, dear Ebony." He purred in a silky voice.
"Your not Robin." I realized in a shaking voice.
"Robin died the night he family did." He replied. Then transformed. His body became distorted for a second before it grew into a man with black eyes and black hair. He was dressed like a ranger but an evil surrounded him that was dark that made me feel scared. I unsheathed my sword and readied myself to fight but the confident look in his eye made me doubt myself.
"You can kill me. You always did fight like an elf." I knew this man.
"You died!" I said horrified.
"No," Khamul replied. "I was already dead"
"Sauron was defeated," I yelled.
"Not anymore." He hissed
"Kill me instead of him," I yelled. Khamul gave me a mocking look.
"But, but he is innocent." He said with a fake pout before he pulled his sword across Elladen neck.
"Run!" Elladen gurgled as blood-soaked his tunic and began pooling around him. Khamul let go of him leaving him to fall first in his own blood. I screamed and my mind went numb. I ran at Khamul and stabbed him. The sword plunged into him but he did not fall. Instead, he pulled the sword out of his body and ran out of the house. For a split second, I was left stunned before I tore after him. By the time I reached the front door, however, he was gone.

I scoured the shire looking for all traces of him but deep down I knew I would never find him. I went back to Bagend in tears to find the bloodied corpse of my brother. I had barely known him before he died for me. I wept for the sake of my mother. 2 of her four children had now died after they choose to be in Middle Earth. I held his body and sobbed rocking back and forth like my mother. To stop the blood I ripped off a piece of my cloak and wrapped it around his raw neck. Then I carried him out of Bagend and called for my horse. He didn't come so I called again knowing deep down that he would never come. A new wave of tears flooded my face and I sat down on the ash-covered ground. I saw the road I use to walk back to the Gray Havens where I could sail back to Valinor and the idea seemed tempting before I remembered my army at the Brandywine river. I needed to get back, there I would be able to hand my leadership over to Elrohir if he would take it or maybe Legolas. I sat there feeling numb before I began to contemplate my next move. I could leave Elladen's body here and walk back but it would nightfall before I would get there and I did not dare leave Elladen body to the dark forces around us. I could stay here until someone was sent to find us but I did not know how long that would take and I didn't want to be around at nightfall so vulnerable. The thought of Khamul still lurking around frightened me but I agreed to stay. I looked at the sun and realized that it was midday now. I picked up Elladens body again and took him back indoors the half-burnt ruins of Bagend where I laid him on the table. I turned back around again to check no one was around me but I seemed to be alone. I then went back outside and looked for any signs of life. If there had been any hobbits that would of survived they probably would have fled for safety. Wherever that may have been. There were no horses, or anything that could be used for defence. I sighed and ran all the way to where the woods met the ash. I found huge thick logs and I carried them back to Bagend. There I chopped them up with my sword hating how much it blunt it and arranging them on top of each other to create a wall in the doorway. I got 6 more logs and I had completed it just as the sun disappeared and the night began.