Frodo stepped into the library and stood motionless, overwhelmed at what he saw. The library was as large as the Shire and the books and scrolls, which seemed to deal with every subject imaginable, were grouped topically in the appropriate sections, each section many times larger than Bag End. The gleaming, dark red shelves reached three times Frodo's height. Even the lights were impressive. They were made of fine crystal and highly polished copper. The scent of some particularly fragrant roses drifted through the open windows, as rosemary and lemon oil burned in the lamps. The only sound Frodo could hear was the splashing of a fountain in the garden outside the window.

When his mind had adjusted somewhat, he noticed a large site map of the library on a table near the entrance and scanned it, grateful that Bilbo had taught him to read Elvish. He had never been as comfort with it as Bilbo was however, he noticed on the map that there was an area where the material was written exclusively in the common language. Feeling relieved, he quickly went over to the area and prepared to study the geography south of Rivendell. The first thing he looked at was a map of the Misty Mountains, the highest of which was Caradhas.

I certainly hope we won't be going there, Frodo thought. Such a high altitude would be most unpleasant and the cold...

The minute that thought came into his mind, a searing pain ripped through his left shoulder, the same pain he felt right after Nazgul had stabbed him but many times worse. Frodo wanted to scream, but the pain disappeared before he could. He kept absolutely still, terrified of making it start again. Nothing happened for a full five minutes so he tentatively went back to studying the map. After he had become more familiar with Caradhas than he was sure he would ever need to be, he slowly reached for some books about Lothlorien. The pain did not return. When he had become well versed in the history and politics of Lothlorien, he glanced at a detailed map of Mordor. His hands shook slightly as he reached for it. He knew how important it was to be well informed about every aspect of the quest, but what if the pain came back? Did he dare take the risk? He lowered head and prayed silently for a minute about what to do. Finally, he took the map and glanced over it quickly.

Nothing happened. Then he began to study it in more detail. Again, nothing happened. The Hobbit exhaled with relief, thinking he must just have had a muscle spasm in that shoulder.

After about two hours of studying and making mental notes, Frodo felt the need for a break. He was also becoming hungry, but instead of going straight to the dining hall, he decided to take the long way through the garden. When he got outside, he was again amazed at what he saw. Trees that looked like they were decades, if not centuries old surrounded the garden.

They look just like the party tree back home, Frodo thought with a smile.

In the shade of these trees, there were chairs made out of twigs and many types of flowers growing in tall grass. In the bright area of the garden were roses in every colour imaginable, and at the center was the fountain he had heard in the library. The fountain was surrounded by pale green marble and cast its white water spray as high as the trees. Frodo watched in amazement; then he saw his friends. Pippin and Merry were sitting by the fountain chatting and Sam was standing off by himself admiring the roses. Then Pippin looked up and saw Frodo walking towards them.

"Frodo, you're up, how splendid!" he exclaimed as they both ran over and hugged him.

"How are you feeling, cousin?" asked Merry enthusiastically.

"Much better, thank you," Frodo replied, "And this time it's true!" Then he noticed Sam glancing hopefully at him from where he was standing.

"Come here, Samwise," Frodo said firmly, even though his eyes were twinkling and he could hardly keep from laughing.

Sam stepped forward shyly, but then he too laughed happily as Frodo hugged him and affectionately laid his head on Sam's shoulder.

"Oh, Boromir asked us to say hello to you," Merry said, "I just remembered."

"Who?" Frodo asked.

"Boromir, the other Man who's probably going on the quest. Would you like to see what he taught us?" Pippin asked eagerly.

"Of course I would," Frodo replied, as he and Sam rose and stood back to give them room.

Pippin and Merry drew their Hobbit sized swords and began to demonstrate their new fighting skills. As the swords made contact, Frodo began to feel an unaccountable chill creep over him, which he tried to ignore. It quickly became apparent that his cousins were developing some skill with the blades. Frodo forced himself to keep watching and smiling, not wanting to spoil things, but a sense of dread began to grow in his heart and get stronger with every move he saw. He stood up and took a few steps, resisting the rising temptation to flee.

Suddenly a bright green hummingbird buzzed past Pippin's head on its way toward the flowers. Startled, Pippin lost his balance and fell into the fountain with a gasp. Frodo didn't see that, however. All he saw at that moment was total darkness. Some brilliant orange lights flashed at him and he was sure he heard three words whispered in the dark: Failure. Weakness. Death.

"NO!" he screamed involuntarily.

"Don't worry, Frodo, I'm not hurt," Pippin assured him with an embarrassed laugh, trying to climb out of the fountain.

Frodo simply stared uncomprehendingly, with the look of horror still frozen on his face and in his eyes.

"Well, I may have scraped my elbow, but it's nothing I can't handle," he added quickly. Again his cousin gave no response.

"Frodo, look! Pippin. is .all. right," Merry spoke slowly and turned him around so he faced the fountain as Pippin climbed out.

Sam, meanwhile, had dashed across the yard the second he heard Frodo cry out.

"Strider!" he shouted. Aragorn, who had been on his way to the library, reached their group without a second's hesitation. "What's going on?" he asked, dropping to his knees in front of Frodo.

"I think Frodo's sick!" Merry exclaimed, he and Pippin understanding at last.

"That's what I thought. Frodo, are you in pain?" he asked, putting his hands on Frodo's shoulders.

"He must have been because he screamed!" Pippin exclaimed.

"Master Peregrin, let Frodo answer please," Aragorn requested, through clenched teeth. "Are you in pain, Frodo?" Frodo looked at Aragorn and shook his head. He looked pale and was trembling noticeably, but he managed to use Arwen's breathing technique to keep his composure.

"Have you had any pain since we diagnosed you with conjunctivitis?" Aragorn continued.

"Irritation in my eyes, yes, but no real pain," Frodo replied, still breathing deeply and slowly as Arwen had taught him to.

"Good. Come over here please." Aragorn gently led Frodo to the area where the light was best, when Merry and Pippin weren't obstructing it.

"Tell me exactly what happened, Frodo," Aragorn requested calmly as he again knelt before the frightened Hobbit.

"We were showing him what Boromir taught us," Merry began quickly, "and then."

"Meriadoc, you are not helping!" Aragorn told him, visibly annoyed

"Oh. Sorry about that but..." Merry then noticed Sam was glaring at him and so he decided he better not say anymore.

"As Merry was saying," Frodo explained, "they were showing me what they learned, but I wasn't able to pay much attention. I.I felt a panic attack coming on, I think. I've never had a panic attack before, but I assume it must feel like that. And... and then everything went black and I thought... I saw these bright orange flashes."

"Did feel that you were about to fall or lose control of your body in any way?" Aragorn continued as he gently examined Frodo's eyes.

"No, at least I don't think I did. I wasn't think much about my body in a physical sense but." Frodo wanted to tell Aragorn everything but it was going to be difficult, especially with his cousins' constant interruptions.

"But what, Frodo?" Aragorn asked quietly. Merry peered over Frodo's shoulder to hear his response, but quickly drew back a bit when Aragorn gave a sharp look. Frodo looked down, and shook his head.

"You must tell me, Frodo," Aragorn pressed him gently.

"Can we help, Strider?" Pippin asked, also leaning over Frodo's shoulder.

"Yes! Get out of my light!" Aragorn snapped.

Pippin and Merry jumped aside, without a second's hesitation. Even Sam moved from Frodo's side a bit. Aragorn felt rather bad for shouting at them, but they were making the examination difficult and he could see they were upsetting Frodo. Under the circumstances, necessity had to take precedent over pleasantness.

"When I was in library, I got a sudden pain in my shoulder," Frodo continued, after taking a deep and forcing himself to look up again.

"Your left shoulder?" Aragorn asked still sounding calm, but with an unmistakable urgency in his voice.

Frodo nodded. "Right were I was stabbed, in fact the pain was worse. But it disappeared in less than a second," he added quickly.

"Frodo, I think we better have Elrond look at you. Come now!" Aragorn got to his feet without another word. Frodo gripped Sam's hand tightly.