Wander

VI. Flight to the Ford

After running a few miles and the night sky gradually lightened, Aragorn had them take a break under three massive trolls turned to stone, just like in the movie and the book. On their run, Sam had pulled Bill the pony with his eyes never leaving Frodo; now, he sat by his master's side, commenting about Bilbo's trolls. She thought his devotion to Frodo throughout the movies and the books should be the standards for all friendships—it irritated her when people said that Frodo and Sam were gay. It wasn't a romantic love they shared, but an unbreakable bond of friendship.

Dense vegetation and fir trees all around made the glade thick with overgrowth. Again, it looked to be a comfortable spot to rest, if not for the stillness of the forest. Rowan hadn't heard a single tweet of a bird or the rustling of a small creature since Weathertop—the forest itself feared the Ringwraiths. Odd calls continuously echoed around them and Frodo seemed to answer them.

"Is he going to die?" Pippin asked.

"He's passing into the Shadow world," Aragorn said. "He'll soon become a wraith like them."

Merry looked at her. "Rowan?"

She shook her head. "He's not going to do either. Frodo will pull through." The hobbits breathed a sigh of relief; Aragorn shared their looks.

"Is there anything we can do?" Merry asked.

"Other than putting athelas in the wound, no. But don't worry: help's on its way," she said.

"Help? What kind of help?" Sam asked.

"A beautiful elf; she'll be arriving soon." She glanced at Aragorn. "You know her quite well."

The Ranger looked at her hard when the sound of jingling bells reached them. They all turned to look as an elf on a white stallion appeared. But like Rowan had expected, it wasn't the beautiful brunette she-elf that arrived, but a golden-haired male.

"Glorfindel!" Aragorn called and got up to greet the dismounting elf.

Rowan was stunned for a moment, but then nearly face-palmed when she remembered that Glorfindel came to their aid in the book, not Arwen. Peter Jackson and the producers added that to give Liv Tyler more of a presence in an all-male movie.

The hobbits looked at her with question marks over their heads.

She gave a tentative smile. "I meant a male elf. They're hard to tell apart sometimes because of the long hair..."

Aragorn and the elf walked up to them. "This is Glorfindel; he dwells in the house of Elrond."

"I was sent from Rivendell to look for you." He had an airy voice. "We feared you were in danger on the road. I see we were right."

He kneeled beside Frodo and checked his wound. Aragorn mentioned he was stabbed by a Morgul blade, and Glorfindel shuddered.

"The wounds of that weapon are beyond my skill, but I will do what I can."

The elf traced the wound with his fingers, said something in Elvish, and Frodo's erratic breathing calmed and his color improved.

"He shall ride my horse," Glorfindel said. He got up to go adjust the stirrups.

Rowan looked at the elf. "You're going to let him go alone?"

"No," Aragorn said. "You're going with him."

His statement caught her off guard. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen in the movie or the book.

"What? Why?"

"You can see the future; if you know what is coming, you can change it." He shared a knowing look with her.

Glorfindel looked at her, intrigued.