Estel's Shire Friend, 1/4
Jan. 17th, 2003 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
claudia603Title: Estel’s Shire Friend 1/4
Author: Claudia
Rating: PG to possibly PG13
Summary: Frodo and Aragorn (Estel) meet and become unlikely friends. Pre-LOTR. Um…probably AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and make no money from them.
Story Notes: No slash, no profanity.
Estel’s Shire Friend 1
Frodo crept along the seemingly impenetrable hedge until he spied the gap, barely big enough to allow him to squirm through. He knew he could do it, since he had done it several times before. Sneaking through the hedge was easier than asking the grim Ranger who guarded the one real opening to the hedge for permission.
Despite years of listening to Bilbo’s tales and enjoying Gandalf’s visits, Frodo was not comfortable interacting with Men, especially not Rangers, who looked fierce and grim. Bilbo had often told Frodo that these were good Men, sent to protect the Shire, but Frodo could not help but fear their size, their ruthless weapons, the harshness of their voices.
A few weeks earlier, Frodo had discovered that these rangers had a lodge just over the border to the Shire, and that on the wooded property of this lodge the best mushrooms in existence grew plentifully. Frodo was somewhat embarrassed, as he was no longer a young orphan rascal of Brandy Hall. A rough beating from Farmer Maggot over twelve years earlier should have taught him a lesson he’d never forget. Besides, now he lived with Bilbo, and he should show more decorum than to crawl in the dirt, pilfering mushrooms.
Well, just this once, and then he’d never come back. Despite having come to Brandy Hall for a week’s visit, he was camping alone along the Brandywine, pleased to get away from his many relatives for one night.
As he wriggled through the hedge, he kept his eyes on the tall Ranger. He was not certain what the Man would do if he caught him, but he looked grim enough that Frodo was not willing to take chances. He didn’t think the ranger would shoot him, as they knew hobbits were not foes. But he may be taken to prison, and the very idea made his throat close in fear.
He made it through the hedge, climbed to his feet, and crept toward the wooded area where he had found the mushrooms earlier that week. Such delicious, succulent mushrooms he had never before tasted! The last time he had raided the Ranger’s property, he had a made a pie out of the mushrooms for Bilbo, and Bilbo had declared it the best in the Shire.
So proud was Frodo of his hobbit-like stealth, that he failed to watch where his feet were falling, and he tripped over a branch, landing on his stomach. He quickly scrambled to his feet and broke into a frantic run.
“You!” The ranger shouted. “Stop!” Frodo’s heart banged as he ran blindly forward. If he could reach the woods, he could easily hide! The heavy footfalls of the Ranger quickly closed the distance. Frodo simply didn’t have the speed or skill to match a ranger.
“Stop right now!”
Frodo tripped again and went sprawling. There was no time to get up, so he rolled over and pushed his back against a tree, wishing the tree would swallow him.
The Ranger crawled toward him. “What’s this? A halfling?”
He gripped Frodo’s arm and forced him to his feet. His face was grim, his eyes black and merciless as he stared down at Frodo.
Frodo’s throat filled with cold terror. He was in deep, deep trouble. “Please,” he gasped weakly. “I’m very sorry.”
“Why are you loitering on this property?” the Ranger demanded, but Frodo could not speak. His lips felt numb, and he could not think of anything that would satisfy this Man.
“Speak!” The Ranger shook Frodo’s arm, his eyes piercing and ruthless.
“I’m sorry,” Frodo said. His skin felt too tight, and a cold, heavy weight pressed on his chest. He blinked a tear away. He had never wept in front of anyone other than Bilbo before, but then again, he had never faced anything this frightening. The Man’s hand around Frodo’s slender arm was so large and powerful, the grip painful. “I don’t know.”
“You can’t tell me why you crawled through the hedge?” His voice was nearly mocking, and when Frodo didn’t answer, he softened the tone of his voice. “What’s your name?”
“Frodo. Frodo Baggins,” Frodo said miserably. “Please, sir, let me go. I’m very sorry. I’ll not come again.”
“Frodo, my name is Elmond, and I’m going to need to take you to the lodge.”
“No,” Frodo said, looking up at the man, blinking his tear-filled eyes in rapid alarm. He wrenched his arm, trying to twist out of the Man’s grip. “No, let me go!”
A wild panic took him, and he thrashed in all directions, kicking Elmond’s shins, striking at him with his free hand, still trying to twist out of his grip. Elmond dropped to his knees and seized both of Frodo’s upper arms, pushing them to his sides until the hobbit could no longer move.
“Calm down, calm down *now*, you hear? There, that’s better. Now, here is the situation. I am required to bring any trespasser to Formir, as he is the one I report to for duty. Now, is anyone expecting you at home? You seem a long way from any village.”
Frodo shook his head miserably. “I was…I was camping…They won’t expect me…not until tomorrow evening.” He tried to stop it, but a tear ran down his face.
Elmond nodded quickly. “I’m going to have to blindfold you, as nobody is to know where our lodge is.”
Frodo’s chest was tight as he tried to get in enough breath. “Am I in trouble?”
“Formir does not like trespassers.”
The idea of encountering Formir made an icy block sink into Frodo’s stomach.
“He can be ruthless,” Elmond continued. “Last trespasser was lashed within an inch of his life.” Frodo paled, and Elmond laughed. “I doubt he’d do that to you. He does have a soft spot for the Shirefolk.”
Frodo tried desperately to calm the battering of his heart as Elmond placed a black cloth over his eyes and pushed him forward, keeping his hands on Frodo’s shoulders.
They did not walk for long before he heard Elmond push open a creaking door. The blindfold was yanked off, and Frodo let out a terrified gasp. His face turned hot and then broke into cold sweat.
The room, mostly bare except for a few wooden tables and stools, was filled with grim Men with weapons, all dressed in a similar fashion to Elmond. Most stared at Frodo in quiet curiosity.
Frodo looked up at Elmond, his blue eyes shining with terror, breathing quickly. His vision dimmed, and a wave of dizziness overcame him. From a distance, he caught the whiff of stale blood, perhaps from a gutted animal, and it sent a wave of nausea through him, causing his legs to give out. Elmond caught him as he sank to the ground in a faint.
***
Frodo woke cold to the bone. He was lying on a hard floor, his cloak bunched under his head as a pillow. He was alone inside what appeared to be a storage room of some kind. There were only two tiny windows, high up the wall. Frodo immediately remembered the ranger’s lodge, the iron grip of Elmond, the harsh laughter and weapons, and how far from home he was. This was far worse than getting caught by Farmer Maggot. What if Bilbo was wrong? What if these Rangers were not here to protect the Shire? What if they killed him for sport, and he never saw Bilbo or his baby cousin Pippin or his other little cousin Merry again?
The door creaked open, and Frodo shrank against the wall, shaking in cold and terror. A Man, different from Elmond, crawled toward him, holding his hands out to indicate that he meant no harm. “Shh…” he said. “It’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you. Frodo, is it?”
Frodo let his head fall on his knees, unable to keep a sob from escaping his throat. “I am sorry,” he said. “Please let me go…I promise you’ll never see me again.”
“Listen,” the Man said. “I am called Estel, and none of us means you harm. I will take you back to the Shire as soon as Formir talks to you.”
“He…will he?…Elmond says that he lashed the last person…I know I must seem like a coward, but I’ve never experienced--”
Estel’s face darkened with anger. “I will have words with Elmond. Formir will not lash you. But can you tell me what you were doing on this property?”
Frodo swallowed several times. “I…” He lifted his head and looked through wet eyes at the Ranger with the kind gray eyes. “It is very shameful, Estel.”
“It is better if you say it.” Estel scooted against the wall so that he was sitting next to Frodo.
“In the woods just behind your lodge you have mushrooms. I am ashamed that I have thieved them from you.” Frodo looked up, his eyes wide with shame and fear. “But I can pay you for them, if I can be allowed to go home.”
“Mushrooms,” Estel said, a puzzled pucker in his forehead. Then suddenly he began to laugh. Frodo watched him in cautious puzzlement. “Oh, dear. Of course. I know all about how much hobbits love mushrooms!”
Frodo felt a rush of warmth for this Man, who spoke in a kind voice and seemed to understand something about hobbits. Frodo managed a tentative smile, and Estel squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “Do not fear, Frodo.”
Formir stepped into the room, a large man with long dark hair and a dour expression. Frodo wiped his face with his sleeve, but it was filthy from crawling through the hedge, and the dirt streaked over his teary face.
“So this is our trespasser?”
“Formir, this is Frodo,” Estel said, putting his arm reassuringly around Frodo’s shoulder.
“Let him speak for himself, Estel. Frodo, is it?”
Frodo nodded, though his heart pounded so hard he could barely breathe. This man looked harsher than Elmond, if that were possible.
“Why did you sneak onto our property?”
“I am very sorry,” Frodo said, swallowing. He was going to start weeping again and he was dreadfully ashamed of himself. Normally he had much better control of his emotions, but this was too much. He had never seen so many of the Big People in one area, all with harsh voices, all with weapons taller than Frodo. If he escaped, he would never willingly leave the Shire again.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Formir said. “Now speak!”
Frodo wept in earnest, dropping his head into his knees again, clutching the fabric of his breeches in his knotted fists. He felt Estel’s hand on his back, strong and reassuring.
“Formir,” Estel said quietly. “Please be gentle. This is his first encounter with Men.”
Formir dropped to his knees in front of Frodo. He slid his hand under Frodo’s chin. “Look at me.”
Elmond and Estel had been wrong. This man would not take pity on him. He was going to demand that Frodo be lashed in front of all his men.
Frodo’s hands shook so badly he was not quite sure what to do with them, so he clutched them together.
“Where do you come from, halfling?”
Frodo took several jagged breaths before answering breathlessly. “Hobbiton…but I am visiting my relatives in Buckland.”
“We cannot keep this halfling here,” Estel said. “Let him go. We are meant to protect the Shirefolk, not cause them harm and fear, else we are no better than the creatures from which we protect them.”
Formir dug his fingers into Frodo’s chin to get his attention, and his face became stern. “Do you know what I do to trespassers?”
Frodo shook his head, too terrified to articulate what Elmond had told him.
The Ranger pulled a coiled whip that he had attached to his belt. Frodo shrank back, but he forced himself to steady his breath. If this was his punishment, he would face it bravely. What was the worst that could happen? They were not going to kill him, so whatever they dealt out, he could endure. Still, he could not stop trembling, and only Estel’s steady hand on his shoulder prevented him from collapsing.
“If you are ever caught on our property again, I will not hesitate to use this. Understand?”
Frodo nodded, swallowing several times. Formir released Frodo’s chin and clapped the hobbit on the shoulder before climbing to his feet.
“I will accompany him back to the border,” Estel said. “Come, Frodo.”
Frodo could barely stand, his legs trembled so badly, but Estel gave him a gentle smile which sent new strength through his limbs.
Go on to next chapter
TBC
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no subject
Estel should at *least* let him get some mushrooms before he goes back---it's not as if the ranger will eat them all. :) Ew, Formir---I don't like him. He sounds very unpleasant... I imagine he IS unpleasant---and they're not even in Bree!!! :)
Well, another winner here---update this one as often as you like. ;0
no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 09:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-17 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
As always, it's fantastically written and gripping and...well, just, please write more!
no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 09:38 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-01-18 02:29 pm (UTC)*winks*
Re:
Date: 2003-01-18 03:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-18 11:30 pm (UTC)I lurved Estel's realization about why Frodo had found it necessary to sneak into the Ranger's property.
no subject
Date: 2003-01-19 08:19 am (UTC)