4 ~

I still cannot believe all the happenings of this day! Aragorn is to be king, the land is not covered in darkness, and on top of that my dear cousins are now possibly the tallest hobbits alive.

I glance around sleepily. We are in a grove of some sort. Festivities are going on around us, but us hobbits have found a group of trees to sit against and rest for a while. The other members of our former fellowship are nearby, probably with the future king, but we hobbits wanted to stay here after talking with them for a while.

Merry pats the ground beside him, inviting me to sit there, and I do, leaning against him and yawning.

“You know, it’s not fair you’ve gotten taller than me, Mer. I am still the older, though you may forget it now,” I say teasingly.

He smiles and hugs me to him. “I’m just glad we all made it alive and well!” he says as Pippin curls up on his other side.

Sam comes and sits next to me, still marveling at my cousin’s height. “I’m sure we’ll make sense of it someday, but for now, I just can’t make it out!” he says.

Pippin laughs. “Then just accept it now, and figure it out later.”

The sun is almost gone now, and I scoot closer to Merry as a cool draft of wind touches me gently.

“I think it’s time for bed,” Merry says, indicating Pippin, who had fallen asleep just as soon as he’d said his last words.

I smile, but shake my head. “Let’s stay out a little while longer,” I say. “I want to see the stars again.”

I feel Sam’s hand on my knee, and look over to see him smiling up at the sky.

We move away from the trees a little but, carrying Pippin with us, then lie on our backs, gazing up at the sky as the stars begin to appear one by one.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen a star,” I say, sighing contentedly.

Sam nods, and grips my hand.

“They’re so beautiful,” I state.

The four of us lay in silence for a while, thinking. I feel myself drift off to sleep. I awake a while later to the voices of our friends, feeling myself being carried somewhere. I looked up into Aragorn’s face and he smiles at me as Gandalf says something about bed and sleep, and healing. Gimli is shooing Pippin off to bed as well, so I do not protest as Aragorn carries me half-asleep into our tent and gently lays me in bed.

I feel the bed move as Sam scrambles up beside me.

“Sleep well, little ones,” Aragorn says before leaving us.

I close my eyes again and scoot closer to Sam. He puts his arms around me and says, “Good night, dearest.”

* * *

The next day I wake to the shining warmly on my face. The blankets feel soft and nice against my skin; even the new clothes I received feel comfortable. I hadn’t been awake enough to change last night. The only thing that reminds me of the recent horrors Sam and I experiences is a dull pain in my right hand ring finger.

I look over at Sam, still snoring beside me, then glance to where Gandalf and Aragorn are standing, refolding Sam’s clothes and the orc things before taking them away. I had hoped to burn them, or at least throw them away, but Gandalf said otherwise, and I still cannot understand why.

Aragorn shakes out the hideous orc pants and I notice something shiny fall out of the pocket. I silently climb out of bed and quickly kneel down at their feet, gently picking the gold chain up off the ground. The chain seems hardly touched, other than the spot where I’d broken it to remove the Ring, and the blood marks on it from where it had torn into my neck.

I feel Aragorn’s hand on my back as he kneels beside me. The chain feels remarkably weightless in my hands, so unlike it had when it bore the Ring as well…

“Are you all right, Frodo?” Aragorn asks gently, helping me stand. I realize I am trembling.

I nod, then shake my head. “I don’t know,” I say, frowning. I am not sure what to think.

“Perhaps I’d better take that with the clothes, my lad,” Gandalf says, holding his hand out.

I drop the chain into it, and for a moment I am back at the mountain, watching Gollum falling with the Ring still grasped in his hand.

When I come back to myself I realize I have collapsed into Aragorn’s arms. There is a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, a familiar sense that I instantly recall as the feeling I felt when I realized my parents were gone, never to return.

Now Sam is standing beside me, looking at me worriedly.

I shake my head to clear it, and try to stand upright. I feel Aragorn slip an arm behind my knees to lift me, but I stop him.

“I’m fine,” I say as he stands and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Come on, Mr. Frodo, let’s get you some breakfast,” Sam says, leading me to a nearby chair that is much too tall for me. “You sit there and I’ll go see about some food.”