Finding Love in the Lord of the Rings

°°°°Chapter Twenty-Two°°°°

Chapter Twenty-Two

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The next morning Aragorn let the hobbits sleep in since he was still unsure as to where they were going. Boromir wanted to travel to a place that she had never heard of before but Aragorn clearly didn't want to go to that place. While they battled it out Cody search for Frodo. At first she thought he would be back shortly but when he did not show up she began to worry.

"Where's Frodo?" she asked to no one in particular.

"I sent him to collect firewood. He should be back soon." Aragorn told her.

She walked over to him and stood in front of him since he was on a log.

"By himself?!" she hissed.

"He'll be fine. He has his sword and he knows how to use it."

When she wasn't convinced he added, "Cody, Frodo is a strong hobbit. If he wasn't he wouldn't have made it this far with such a burden."

"I guess you're right." she gave in.

"Give him ten more minutes, if he's not back by then we'll go look for him."

After only five minutes had passed Merry spoke up for the first time since they had traveled down the Anduin.

"Has anyone seen Boromir?"

Aragorn looked over at Boromir's pack and saw that his shield rested against it; Boromir always carried his shield.

"Legolas, Gimli, you two go look for Boromir. Merry and Pippin, look for him too but in different places. Sam you'll come with me to look for Frodo."

"I'll stay here I guess and see if either of them come back." Cody butted in.

"Okay."

Everyone crashed through the trees that bordered the bank and were soon out of sight. She waited in silence, listening for any unusual sounds, and paced back and forth through the camp. After what seemed like a lifetime she heard the sound of fast approaching footsteps. She stood in the general area that they would emerge and waited with her sword unsheathed.

They got louder and louder until something crashed into her. They were both knocked to the ground and Cody was pinned to the ground by the other's weight.

"Frodo, get off." she grunted.

"Sorry." he rolled off of her and then helped her up.

"Where have you been?" she asked when they both brushed themselves off.

"Well, I was gathering firewood and then Boromir attacked me.

"Why would he attack you?"

"The Ring messes with people's minds and makes them do things that they wouldn't usually do." he said and held up the small golden band.

Something in the back of Cody's mind that had been asleep for the past few weeks perked up at the sight of the One Ring. She easily pushed it away and watched as Frodo made his way to the canoes.

"Now where are you going?"

He turned around and sadness was plastered onto his face. His eyes watered slightly and when he spoke his voice cracked. "I need to finish this journey on my own. Too many people are getting hurt or are being effected by the Ring. It is not their burden to carry, it is mine." He began to push a canoe into the water with little success.

"Frodo, please stay. We will get through this, you are not alone."

"I don't want any more people to get hurt by something I hold, Cody."

"Then I'm coming with you."

A mixture of relief and a new wave of sadness washed over his face as she strode over to him and began to push the canoe into the water.

"Cody,"

"No, I'm coming with you. You cant expect me to stay behind while you go off on your own adventure."

"Cody listen to me." he began and started walking to her.

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."

He stood directly in front of her now and when she looked up at him she saw that there was happiness and pain in his eyes. She looked down at the sand under her feet for she couldn't meet his gaze. She felt soft finger tips pull under her chin and her mind flashed back to when Merry did the same thing. Tears welled in her eyes at the memory but she let Frodo lift her head.

When her eyes met his she couldn't see anything else except for him. She let him draw her near and when they were not even inches apart she closed her eyes. She couldn't hear anything above her own racing heart as she stood there with Frodo.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you here my love." he whispered when they pulled apart. He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We need to go." he finally said.

Cody went and grabbed two packs and put them in the canoe while Frodo pushed the boat into the water. They pushed off and began their short journey across the river. When they had only made it half way across they heard someone shouting Frodo's name. They both spun around and saw Sam wading into the river with his own pack.

"Turn back Sam!" Frodo ordered.

Sam ignored him and when he was only a few feet away from the canoe his head disappeared under the blue water.

"Sam!" Frodo called.

With out even thinking, Cody stood up on the side of the canoe and dove in. She tried to remember what Gimli had shown her and she began to kick her legs and move her arms in circles. She opened her eyes and she saw a blur of brown and grey thrashing in the water below her. She grabbed his out stretched hand pulled him up to the surface where he was pulled into the canoe.

Her head began to feel light as she tried to swim up and when her head broke the surface she took a deep breath of the sweet air. Her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen and she was breathing hard from staying under for so long.

When she thought she would go back under she felt two pairs of strong arms grab her shirt and pull her out of the water.

"What were you thinking!" Frodo demanded.

"What did it look like?" she wheezed. She painfully sat up and saw Frodo sitting with a scared expression and Sam coughing up water.

"Thank you." Sam whispered to her.

All she could do was nod her head and shiver from the small breeze that blew across the river. Frodo continued to row and they soon reached the opposite bank.

As they got out she breathed, "No turning back now."

This concludes the first part of the journey of the Ring. It will continue in The Two Worlds.

Thank you all so much for reading my book! It was so much fun writing this and reading what you had to say! My next book is already up if you're ready to continue:) I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing it.

-God bless all of you and have a good rest of your day:) †

~V