Smoke and Mirrors Chapter 9

Frodo stood above a large precipice. Around him, the air was filled
with the acrid smoke and heat from the fires burning far below him.
He panted, trying to force some air into his burning lungs. He drew
closer and looked down into the roiling fires of Orodruin. He heard
a noise behind him and saw Sam staggering towards him. He knew now
it was too late to save himself. As he gazed at his loyal friend, the
Ring screamed and pulled at his soul. It promised him great power
and fame and, above all, happiness. It showed him a lush Shire
complete with the happy laughter of hobbits frolicking in the verdant
green meadows. Bag End would be his again, and he saw Sam, Merry and
Pippin with their children; happy and healthy living the gentle life
within their smials. He knew, in some dark corner of his mind, that
all he saw was a lie. But the Rings call was insistent--showing him
a peace and contentment that lay over all of Middle Earth, if he
would but lay claim to It. His *new* Master would take care of him
now. He would no longer feel the pain, anguish and heartache that
was so much a part of his current existence. Many other things were
promised, all of them a delight to the senses, if he would but yield
to the power of the Master of the One.

Frodo heard and felt all these sensations flood through his very soul
and gazed down at the glowing band that lay in his open palm. He
looked up at Sam, "I have come," he said. "But I do not choose to
do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is MINE!"
Then he placed the Ring on his finger and vanished.

Sam gasped as he saw his Master vanish but before he could reach him,
Gollum attacked him from behind. He *knew* what 'Master'
intended to do with the Precious. First, however, he intended to
dispose of the 'fat hobbit' for the last time. Taking a large rock, he
struck Sam down, rendering him unconscious. Then he stealthily
approached the Master. He could not allow him to destroy the
Precious. He saw that the Master had vanished meaning he had put the
Ring on his finger, but Gollum had seen where he had stood moments
before and groped about feeling for Frodo. At last, he found him and a
fierce struggle began between the two Ringbearers. Gollum found the
offending hand and, splaying the fingers wide, bit down on the ring finger bearing the Precious, with all his might.

A high-pitched shriek of agony issued from Frodo's mouth as bone and
tissue were rent asunder.

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The shriek issued from Frodo was one of agony and loss. Frodo's eyes
went impossibly wide, his whole body shuddering convulsively. Fresh
sweat was upon his brow and lip as he continued to shriek in pain.

Merry and Pippin had been sleeping soundly but now lurched up from
the bed, clutching each other, as the shrieks echoed off the walls
around them. Their faces were very pale, eyes wide with tears and
they were panting as if they had just run a great race.

"What are you doing to him? Are you MAD----you're TORTURING him!"
shouted Merry. Pippin held close to his Merry, trembling in fear.
The scene before them was unimaginable. Aragorn, their dear friend
and protector, was torturing Frodo with a glowing brand!

"You're burning him! Strider, STOP! Why are you hurting Frodo?"
screamed Pippin. Gandalf moved swiftly to the hysterical hobbits,
still holding Sam, who was unusually still, against his shoulder.
Gandalf turned so that he could see the small gardener's face. It
was deathly pale; his eyes had rolled up into his head, his
breathing now only shallow gasps. Gandalf motioned to Saleth,
who called another healer into the room to attend the small folk.
The healer placed a hand on Sam's forehead as Gandalf laid him gently
on the other bed.

"He has lost consciousness and is in shock," the healer said. "We must get him warmed and raise his feet," he continued with a note of urgency. Blankets and pillows were brought and Sam was settled. His breathing gradually became more normal and his eyelids began to flutter. Large tears rolled down his cheeks as he remembered what had to be done to save Frodo’s life. Gandalf sat between the beds, one hand softly stroking Sam's arm, trying to explain the situation to Merry
and Pippin. They calmed a bit but their eyes were still fixed on
Aragorn, a look of abject horror on their faces. Sam was trying to
sit up. Gandalf gently pushed him back down, and whispered
soothingly to him.

"There, there, Sam...You’ve had quite a day and the shock was too
much for you. You need to lie back now. Frodo is all right. He is
in a lot of pain, but the healers will help him deal with it. You
must rest, my dear hobbit, in order to better serve your Master," he
soothed.

Sam looked up at Gandalf. "Will he be all right now?" he asked softly.

"They are attending him, you can not help him by becoming ill
yourself, Sam. Please sleep." Gandalf nodded to the healer who then
brought over a cordial to help Sam rest. Sam took the cordial and
after a few sips, lost his battle with exhaustion and allowed his
eyes to slowly close. Gandalf smiled and placed a kiss upon his
curly head.

Merry and Pip continued to watch in disbelief at what was being done to
their cousin. Gandalf knelt before them, "There is little you can
do for Frodo now, although he will need you very much, later. You
should rest so that you will be ready for him at that time," soothed
Gandalf.

"Aragorn said he would wake me," Merry said angrily.

"He has been occupied trying to save Frodo's life, Merry. He still
is. You must understand that," said Gandalf.

"Merry's face changed from one of anger to worry for his
cousin. ”Will Frodo live?" he asked.

"They are doing all they can to save him, Meriadoc. Worry
not...Aragorn and Saleth are *helping* Frodo although it may not
appear so just now," Gandalf said solemnly.

Merry and Pippen gave skeptical looks at Gandalf. They were not
ready to rest, wanting to watch and make sure Frodo was treated with
utmost care and gentleness. Gandalf saw this, and moved to place
pillows and blankets around them. He made a comfortable niche from
which they could view the proceedings without interfering. He
smiled and caressed each small head with his right hand.

Aragorn removed the iron and cast it aside; he placed a cool cloth
against the now charred finger. Frodo's eyes began to close, tears
ran down his face when he suddenly retched the Valerian extract in a great gush over the linens and himself. He whimpered, as his face and chest were wiped clean. Aragorn applied the balm to the blackened stump---a wound *I* created, he thought. Feelings of guilt and self-
loathing rose within him at what he had had to do to Frodo. He
felt like a monster inflicting fresh agony on the one being he thought bravest of all.

Frodo's eyes rolled up into his head and the shivering that wracked
his body, became more violent. His face was pale, yet still feverish,
his breathing coming in ragged gasps.

"He is going into shock!" Aragorn said quickly. "We must have more
blankets and pillows and brew that black currant tea now," he said
with urgency.

Saleth began making the tea with the hot water sitting by the fire.
B lankets and pillows were brought and placed beneath the frail hobbit's
feet.

"Saleth, let's put the reed and funnel in now so we can get these
medicines into him quickly, before he is lost to us." cried Aragorn.

"Yes, my Lord. They are ready. Would you prefer that I do the
procedure, your Highness?" Aragorn looked up into Saleth's eyes.
Saleth could see how the strain of the cauterization had left the
King shaken. "Perhaps you are to closely involved with the little
one to remain objective, my Liege." Saleth said softly. He knew he
was speaking above his station but was willing to risk the King's ire
if it would spare his Lord more anguish.

Aragorn appeared angry at first, but then his features softened, and
his eyes filled with a great sadness.
"Perhaps you are right, Saleth. I do have a very difficult time
remaining objective where Frodo is concerned," he whispered. "Thank
you for being brave enough to speak to me so."

Saleth nodded. He moved to the tray where the funnel and reed
lay. "First perhaps, we should bind him. It would be most
unfortunate if the Ringbearer were to struggle and pull the reed out,
after we were successful in its placement," he said. Aragorn nodded
his assent and retrieved padding and gauze strips to secure the
hobbit in place. First, he took small pillows, placing them on
either side of Frodo's feverish face and tied them in place, securing
them to the bed rails with a long gauze strip across Frodo's forehead.
Then he moved to do the same with the Ringbearer’s arms, legs and
torso. Once secure, he moved to Frodo's head and tipped it back
slightly. Frodo moaned and struggled weakly, attempting to free
himself from the restraints. Saleth took the reed, coated it in light oil, then with his right hand, slowly slipped it into the
Frodo’s mouth. He moved past the tongue and guided it down the
reddened throat.

With his remaining strength, Frodo twisted and writhed, arching his
back up off the mattress. He gagged and retched as the reed slipped
past his tongue. Saleth, undeterred, continued feeding the tube down
the small throat until he felt he had placed it correctly. He bent
and placed his head to the chest of the hobbit. His sharp hearing
detected soft breath sounds issuing from the small form. He
looked up at Aragorn, "I feel it has been placed correctly. His
lungs sound clear," he said.

Aragorn nodded. Next, a gauze strip was secured around the reed and
tied so it could not be pulled out. Saleth attached the small funnel
to the end protruding out from Frodo's lips. Frodo gave up his
struggle and his eyes slipped half shut. Slowly, Saleth poured
spoonfuls of the currant tea into the funnel. Frodo's eyes cracked
open and he tried to talk making an 'umph' sound and then he whimpered.

"We shall have to be careful to only give him small amounts so he
will not vomit," commented Aragorn.

"I agree, my Lord."

"I wish also to give him an infusion of willow bark tea to try and
bring his fever down," the King added.

"And give him more of the athelas and echinacea teas as well, to
fight the infection, and perhaps extract of passion flower or more
Valerian root for sleep. The athelas brew can be difficult to hold
on an empty stomach but is also a good tea to induce sleep," the King continued.

Saleth smiled a little to himself as Aragorn spoke. "I thought
perhaps after we had given him the currant tea, we might try the
broth," Saleth commented. Aragorn could see that Saleth clearly
had matters under control and began to relax a little. Frodo's
glazed eyes fixed on Aragorn and Aragorn moved closer to try to
comfort his friend.

"Frodo, do you know who I am?" he asked gently, softly combing his
fingers through the dark curls. Frodo only stared at him, his eyes glazed and unseeing. Aragorn sighed. Perhaps later, he thought. “He is locked in delirium and now, this…” Aragorn motioned to the charred finger. “He has been through so much.” With a sad smile, Aragorn
turned his attentions to Merry and Pippin.

"I am sorry there was no time to speak with you before Frodo's
procedure. It was important to move fast in order to stop the
bleeding," he said.

"How could you do that to Frodo?" Pippin whispered, tears in his
eyes. Merry nudged Pippin in the side.

"Pippin, we woke while they were in the middle of it, I'm sure it
wasn't as brutal as it seemed," he reasoned.

"No Merry, Pippin is right. It was coldly brutal, but there was no
other way to save Frodo's life. If he had continued to bleed, he
would have died either from blood loss or from the fever. We needed
to concentrate on the fever and this seemed the only way to stop the
bleeding so we could do so. I shall never forgive myself for hurting
Frodo, even though my actions were only in his best interests. I
felt like a monster tormenting him so," his voice quavered. Aragorn
slowly rose, looking forlorn and beaten, and moved to the doorway
as tears flowed down his face, and left the hobbits room.

Pippin's green eyes were full of tears; he looked at Merry in
alarm. "Oh, Merry...what have I said...what have I *done*?" he
whispered.

Merry wrapped his arms around his small cousin as Pip sobbed
uncontrollably into his chest.

TBC