~7~

I have seen it and relived it more than once in my dreams since it happened; I have seen the tower and the orcs and that horrid spider with her many eyes all staring at me maliciously. Even now, though, I am not sure what was real, or what was only my imaginings of that time. Whichever is true, I know now that the thought of a dark tower sends shivers up my spine.

Aragorn has brought us to a tall, run down tower that he says is the best to view the city from. It looks innocent enough, but somehow it feels as though my feet will not allow me to step into it. I take a quick glance at my hands and notice they are trembling.

Aragorn, Merry and Pippin start up the steps and Sam almost follows them, but then he notices that I haven’t moved.

He turns around. “Are you comin’, Frodo?” he asks.

I don’t answer, glancing up at the top of the tower.

“Frodo?” he says a bit louder.

I look at him.

“Are you comin’?” he asks again.

I blink, then say, “Yes, I’m coming. Sorry, Sam.” I follow him through the doorway, though every inch of me is wanting to run the other way.

The tower isn’t as high as I had thought, though the stairs are narrow and slightly steep. There are plenty of windows letting light into it, and I begin to relax when the suffocating, claustrophobic feeling I had felt in the other tower does not come.

“Be cautious of your footing” Aragorn says as he opens a small door to a room beyond. “I am not sure how stable the floor is and there are sure to be boards that may not hold your weight.”

We all follow, a bit concerned for our bodily well being, as we carefully make our way to a small window looking south west.

Before glancing out the window, I look around the room. There are a few holes in the floorboards, leading down to the black emptiness below. There is barely anything in the room, but a broken chair and a water bucket tipped on its side. There is only one window in this room, and after the door is shut behind us, it is mostly in darkness other than the light coming from the little window where my cousins are crowding to see the far off city. Aragorn is telling them some facts about how far it is to the city and how long it will take to get there, and what we will do when we get there.

Now I am beginning to feel suffocated. My head starts to hurt, and I quickly wriggle myself in between my cousins to see the city and breathe the fresh air from outside. Sam, standing beside Merry, looks at me, a bit concerned, but I turn my focus to the city.

At first I don’t see it, and then the sun comes out from behind a cloud and I see the city, far off, among the mountains, gleaming white against the slate grey.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I say quietly.

“It looks more impressive close up,” Pippin says. “It is huge, Frodo! You’ve never seen a place so big!”

I step back to allow Sam to look through the window again, realizing that my headache hasn’t quite gone away yet. I glance at Aragorn as he says something, but his voice now sounds distant. I am suddenly dizzy.

I feel myself swaying, unable to stop, then my world goes dark.

* * *

I wake to find myself safely on the ground, sitting with my head in Aragorn’s lap as he attempts to rouse me.

I glance up at him groggily and say, “What happened?” My head still hurts, though I am no longer dizzy.

“You fainted. You overworked yourself and you didn’t drink enough before going up is my guess,” Aragorn responds. “I am sorry, my friend, I should have thought of your health before going.”

I push myself up and say, “It wasn’t your fault, Aragorn.” I wonder if it really has anything to do with what he said, or if it was something else entirely. A vision of the orc tower flits through my mind and I push it aside, forcing myself to think of something else.

I look around to see that we are sitting on the ground right outside the tower. So I have not been asleep long.

I hear a happy cry, and suddenly Sam is by me, pulling me into a hug, and then Merry and Pippin.

“You worried us there, Frodo,” Merry says, helping me rise to my feet.

We head back to where the rest of our party has made camp, and Merry and Pippin lead us directly towards where we can find something to eat. Aragorn excuses himself after making certain I feel all right, and admonishing me to rest a bit.

I don’t miss the worried look aimed in my direction as he leaves, but pretend not to have noticed as Sam tells me to eat a roll stuffed with a slice of meat and cheese.

* * *

It seems that after my little episode in the tower yesterday, everyone has become more conscious about my health. They are constantly asking if I am all right, or if I need to rest. I am used to this from Sam, but not my cousins. I can only assume they were particularly shaken by seeing me faint for no apparent reason.

I keep telling them that I am fine, and for the most part, I am. We crossed the fields of Pelennor today, and I made it without difficultly. They found a few ponies for us to ride, as the Captains of Gondor were on horseback, and Aragorn wanted us to be able to keep up with them.

Now we have camped just under the city. Pippin was right. It is more impressive up close, nearly too much for a hobbit to take in. It is huge! It might be the tallest tower I have ever seen!

Tomorrow Aragorn will enter that grand city, for all of Gondor and Middle Earth to see that the rightful King has returned!