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Chapter 4

~Unexpected Comfort~

The Fellowship had reached Lothlorien, entering the wood in the afternoon just as the light was beginning to fade. It had been a relief for Frodo to walk in the cool shade of the trees. An aura of peace had passed over the Company, though all had been wary of the mystery surrounded Laurelindorenan, the Valley of the Singing Gold.

They had barely entered the forest when the elves of that place, the Galadhrim, had greeted them with the points of arrows and the ageless people had only slightly relaxed when they realized who they were. The Fellowship had been led farther into the forest and up onto a lofty flet in one of the immense trees as night fell upon Lorien.

“The leader of this company is Haldir,” Aragorn had pointed out to Frodo the tall Elf who had spoken to them rather rudely, towards Gimli especially, when the Elves had first come upon them.

Aragorn and Legolas, a Dunadan and a Prince of Mirkwood, seemed known to the Galadhrim, but the reserved Elves appeared very nearly afraid of Frodo and the Ring he carried. “You bring great evil with you.” Haldir had said, looking pointedly at him. “You can go no further.” Haldir’s words had stirred Frodo’s memory and his mind wandered to the voice that had been in Frodo’s mind after they had entered Lothlorien. It had not been his own this time, but rather a woman’s, deep and powerful. The echoes of it still disturbed his thoughts. ‘Frodo... your coming to us... is as the footsteps of Doom.... You bring great evil here, Ringbearer.’

Frodo dragged himself away from the hypnotic voice that haunted his mind and back to the present. Aragorn was trying to convince Haldir to let them continue on and the two had been speaking heatedly for the past hour. Now it looked as if Aragorn was actually pleading with the Elf. Frodo’s gut twisted as he realized again how desperate their situation really was.

Frodo looked around at the Fellowship. Legolas was resting comfortably on this high perch, but looked rather restless. He caught the elf’s eye and their gaze met, but neither had any comfort to offer the other and they looked away after a moment. Sam glanced at him as if to make sure he was still indeed there, as he had done every few minutes since they’d left the Mines. It was beginning to get tiresome, but Frodo knew Sam was only worried about him so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to end up snapping at him like he had at Aragorn but a few hours earlier. Frodo tried to give Samwise an encouraging smile, but his face refused even to create a façade of happiness and all that came out of the effort was a slight shift in Frodo’s lips. He gave up and did his own check for Merry and Pippin. They were huddled together on the other side of the flet, and they looked quite miserable so high off the ground. Peregrin had taken Gandalf’s death badly, though it seemed Boromir had eased his pain somewhat when the Company had stopped that last time before reaching Lothlorien. Frodo didn’t know how he had done it, but he was grateful to the Man for helping his youngest cousin. Gimli was sitting as far away from Elves as possible and looked extremely uncomfortable being in their realm. Out of long-time habit, Frodo began to search for Gandalf. ‘Gandalf...? Gandalf? Oh... Gandalf.’ Memories that had been temporarily eased came flooding back to him and tears welled up suddenly in his eyes, but Frodo was determined not to let them fall. Boromir must have noticed anyway.

“Gandalf’s death was not in vain,” he said gently. “Nor would he have you give up hope.” he paused and looked at Frodo piercingly. “You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don’t carry the weight of the dead.”

While Frodo’s mind could find no true comfort in the words, his spirit did and indeed it felt as if a great weight that he hadn’t even known was there had been lifted.

As he began to relax, Haldir was suddenly before them. “You will follow me.” he said and he led them off the flet.

The sun had risen over the golden trees and light touched the faces of the Company. Boromir was wary of these Elves; he did not trust them and always it seemed as if someone was listening to his very thoughts. He glanced around at those that surrounded the remaining eight of the Fellowship and, deciding they were not an immediate threat, relaxed into thought. The Ringbearer... Frodo was slightly behind him and Boromir was pleased to note that he walked with a lighter step, though shadows still clouded his face. Boromir always kept track of him now. What if something should happen to him? What if he should wander off like he had after they’d left the Mines? What would become of the Ring if he did? Boromir shook his head to rid himself of that voice that haunted his steps and dreams. ‘Keep Frodo in your sight... follow him...’ a seductive tone had been whispering. ‘Leave me!’ Boromir told the voice. ‘Please leave me alone...’

“Boromir?” a soft voice at his side jerked him out of his thoughts. He looked down and was startled to find Frodo himself.

“Yes? Is there something wrong?”

“No, no.” Frodo shook his head. “I just... I wanted to thank you for what you said last night. It... I found a comfort in your words that you will probably never realize.” Boromir was surprised. He hadn’t expected gratitude... the Ringbearer had been avoiding him, it seemed, for quite a while. When he didn’t say anything, Frodo continued. “And I also wanted to thank you for whatever you did to help Pippin.” he said, looking over at the mentioned cousin who was enthralled, in the morning light and safely on the ground, with the Elves and the trees and every other new Valar-be-blessed thing and he was now busy asking Haldir who-knew-what. The Elf, though, did not seem to mind; rather he appeared amused.

‘The Valar help him if Pippin thinks he has found someone to answer all of his many questions.’ Boromir thought. “You are very welcome, on both accounts.” he said. He paused, wondering if he should reveal to Frodo what Peregrin had most likely told him in confidence. ‘He needs to know.’ he decided, though it irked him to break even a promise not verbally given. “Your cousin seemed to think Gandalf’s death was his fault.” he said reluctantly. Frodo started, but composed himself quickly. “Is there something wrong?” Boromir asked, concerned.

“No, nothing’s wrong... I just, I’m fine, Boromir. Thank you again...” Frodo said hastily and he made his way over to his cousins.

(Note: Some of the above dialogue is from a scene in the movie “The Fellowship of the Ring”.)

A BIG HUGH THANKS TO ERISINIA GAZELLE FOR BETA-ING THIS TO DEATH FOR ME!

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