Return to our Destiny.

2. The Taming of Sméagol & The Lady of Dusiol.

The hobbits are sleeping. A figure climbs down from above them. "You thieves! You thieves... You filthy little thieves! Where is it? Where is it? They stole it from us. My Precious." Gollum growls as he creeps closer. "Curse them! We hates them! It's ours it is... and we wants it!" Gollum reaches out his hand towards the hobbits. The hobbits jump up and grab Gollum's arms and pull him down.

They struggle. Gollum gets loose and jumps on Frodo. They fall, and Gollum sees the Ring around Frodo's neck. He desperately tries to get it, but Sam grabs him. Gollum wriggles loose once more, and jumps on Frodo again. Sam gets a hold of him. Gollum bites him on the shoulder, and clasps his arms and legs around Sam. Frodo draws Sting and holds it to Gollum's throat.

"This is Sting. You've seen it before, haven't you — Gollum!" Frodo sneers down at Gollum. "Yes." Gollum whines out, "Release him, or I'll cut your throat!" Gollum slowly loosens his grip on Sam and lets out a wail.

***

It is light again. Gollum has been tied at the neck with Sam's rope and is dragged along. "It burns! It burns us! It freezes! Nasty elves twisted it. Take it offs us!" he cries as he yanks at one end of the rope. "Quiet you!" Sam says and Gollum groans and drags himself across the rocks. "It's hopeless! Every orc in Mordor is gonna hear this racket! Let's just tie him up and leave him!" Sam says and Frodo contemplates doing that.

He knows that Thilia would have just killed Gollum for attacking them alone, but now that he sees Gollum, he understands his uncle's reasoning a bit better. But he knows to keep an eye on Gollum, thanks to Thilia's warnings. "No! That would kill us, kill us!" Gollum screams, "It's nothing more than you deserve!" Sam spits back. Frodo looks at Gollum. "Maybe he does deserve to die. But now that I see him, I do pity him." Frodo says and Gollum looks hopeful.

"We'll be nice to them, if they'll be nice to us. Take it offs us." Gollum begs holding rope out to Frodo. "We swears to do what you wants. We swears!" he says bowing with his head pressed into the ground. "There's no promise you can make that I can trust." Frodo says firmly. Gollum kneels in front of Frodo and begs him. "We swears to serve the Master of the Precious. We will swear on — on the Precious! gollum gollum." he coughs out.

"The Ring is treacherous. It will hold you to your word." Frodo says even though he plans to keep an eye on Gollum at all times. "Yes... on the Precious... on the Precious." Sam isn't so easily swayed. "I don't believe you!" Sam snaps and Gollum tries to run and get away up the rocks but Sam yanks on the rope while shouting, "Get down! Get down!" Sam jerks the rope and Gollum crashes to the ground.

"Sam!" Frodo calls making his friend stop. "He's trying to trick us! We let him go, he'll throttle us in our sleep!" Frodo approaches Gollum, who is panting and holding his throat. "You know the way to Mordor?" Frodo asks as he kneels to Gollum's eye level. "Yes." Gollum gasps out cautiously, "You've been there before?" Frodo asks firmly, "Yes." gollum says with a shaky nod. Frodo takes the rope off Gollum's neck, and Gollum seems surprised.

"You will lead us to the Black Gate." Frodo orders. Gollum rushes off and the hobbits follow him. Gollum talks to himself as he moves ahead of the Hobbits. "To the Gate, to the Gate! To the Gate, the masters says. Yes!" Gollum's voice changes in response to the first speaker, "No! We won't go back. Not there. Not to him. They can't make us. Gollum! Gollum!" it then changes again, "But we swore to serve the master of the precious!"

"No. Ashes and dust and thirst there is, and pits, pits, pits. And Orcses, thousands of Orcses. And always the Great Eye watching, watching." It changes again before Gollum turns and looks at the Hobbits and he screams before he takes off faster than they can follow. "Hey! Come back now! Come back! There! What did I tell you? He's run off, the old villain. So much for his promises." Sam snaps,

Gollum suddenly reappears. "This way Hobbitses! Follow me!" him doing this makes Sam feel stupid but he and Frodo continue to follow. 

***

Thilia and Boromir fly over beautiful areas filled with lush trees and huge mountains, and dazzling lakes and glittering oceans. Albim having flown them at the fastest he could go, when he saw where he needed to land, the now visible bodies moved to make space, Thilia could make out a paler form coming out of a temple like structure. When they landed, Thilia was greeted by male forms in medic robes,

She knew this by the smell of healing herbs and liquids that wafted off them. So she knew they were there for Boromir. Helping him down carefully, he was set down on a stretcher and looked at by one of the males, "This could have been seen to by any experienced elven healer, why is he here?" the medic said and Thilia looked to want to throttle him, but Albim, now back in human form, stopped her. 

"It's been too long since we've had anyone here of the human race, they have zero bedside manners. They will look after him regardless and then you will be able to leave, but while they do that, I have someone I think you need to meet." When the healers picked up Boromir and moved off to one of the building near the temple like structure, Thilia had to be pulled after Albim, she could barely take her eyes off of Boromir. 

"Your mate will be well looked after, I can confirm these healers are the best in the world, even greater than the elves, if I do say so myself." a feminine voice said from behind Thilia. Turning to see who spoke, Thilia was met with the pale figure she'd seen when they were landing. "princess this is Lady Zarsa, of house Dusiol. She is the one who sent me to find and help you," Albim explained.

"Milady, this is Princess Thilia Qodris, of House Durin. Daughter of Rynnyl Qodris of house Durin and granddaughter of Radyrrin Qodris." He said introducing her for her. He wasn't spared from the intensity of her glare. "Why am I here? Because I really didn't come here for a recap on my ancestry." The woman smiled, "She reminds me of her grandfather, he was a bit rough around the edges as well." Thilia rolled her eyes. 

"I had Albim sent for you because I needed to tell you that your people need you," she said and Thilia sighed heavily, "Seriously? You called me out here just to tell me that I'm a princess of dragonkind and that the throne is empty?" Thilia groaned. "I spent the better half of my childhood wiggling out from under the weight of my grandfather's crown only to find out there was another one put there from my mother's father." she said bitterly. 

"Look lady, I am all kinds of grateful that your helping me by healing my partner, but I am not interested in ruling, isn't there a close family to mine that is more than willing to take my place and rule instead?" she asked, knowing a race without a ruler would suffer," Zarsa nodded, "there is but they too don't want to rule, like you they have other things that take up their time, your bloodline was made to rule, there are no others," Zarsa said. 

"What about you? Can't you do it? Seriously, it looks like the people of this land trust and respect you," Thilia said, "I saw how everyone is around you and in the last five minutes of us talking not a single one greeted or showed me any kind of respect. They don't know me, and I can say the same, I don't know them, I wasn't raised on your lifestyle or traditions, I was raised in a dwarven household, with a few elven traditions thrown in." she explained. 

"Is there no way of finding someone else to take the throne, I really can't, I have a quest I need to finish," she added. Zarsa looked to think on Thilia's words. "Come with me, I will see if there is another who would be suited." she said and the two of them followed her into the temple.