Beauty and a Beast

Frodo and Sam climbed over the rocky terrain Emyn Muil. They looked into the distance at the Mountain of Fire.

“Mordor. The one place in Middle-earth we don’t want to see any closer. It’s the one place we’re trying to get to. It’s just where we can’t get. Let’s face it, Mr. Frodo, we’re lost. I don’t think Gandalf meant for us to come this way.”
Sam said.

“He didn’t mean for a lot of things to happen, Sam... but they did.”
Frodo answered, before he suddenly felt and he could see the Eye zooming in on him. A frightening image flashed before him, and it was the same image of the same young evil-looking girl. Frodo gasped, and he began to pant as he backed away

“Mr. Frodo? It’s the Ring, isn’t it?"

"It’s getting heavier.”
He said, out of breath, as he clutched the Ring by his chest and he sat down, still panting. He then fumbled for his water bottle and took a sip. He fumbled for the chain that Arryn had pressed into his hand at the last minute, before he fled. It was a hand-crafted charm. *cover picture* He never took if off after he had unwrapped it.

“What food have we got left?” Frodo asked.

"Well, let me see..." Sam said, as he took out a package of lembas bread from his pack.

"Oh yes, lovely – Lembas bread. And look!" He exclaimed, as he dug deeper and deeper into his pack.

"More lembas bread." Sam said, as he showed Frodo another package. He then, broke off a piece, and he tossed to Frodo, and he then began to munch on a piece himself

"I don't usually hold with foreign food, but this Elvish stuff, it’s not bad." Sam said, truthfully.

"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it Sam?" Frodo smiled, and Sam smiled back, and then looked ominously towards Mordor.

"Those rain clouds might." Sam said, as they continued to trek through the difficult terrain, and they often had to huddle underneath their cloaks

"This looks strangely familiar." Sam said, as he looked around.

"It’s because we’ve been here before! We’re going in circles." Frodo said, exasperated.

"Ah! What's that 'orrid stink? I warrant there's a nasty bog nearby. Can you smell it?" Sam said.

"Yes. I can smell it." Frodo said, before he dropped his voice to a whisper.
"We’re not alone."

_______________________________________________________
Night fell, and Frodo and Sam were asleep. A dark shape appeared on top of the cliff. It was the creature Gollum, and he was making his way down towards the Hobbits.

"The thieves! The thieves! The filthy little thieves! Where is it? Where isss it? They stole it from us. My preciousss..." Gollum hissed, as he crept closer and closer.

"Curse them! We hates them! It’s ours, it is... and we wantssss it!"
Gollum reached out his hand towards the Hobbits, and suddenly the Hobbits sprung up, and they grabbed hold of Gollum's arms, and they pulled him down, and amidst the struggle, Gollum wriggled loose and leapt onto Frodo. As Frodo fell back, the chain and Ring around his neck was revealed and Gollum jumped straight for the Ring. Sam tried to grab at him but he was knocked away.

Gollum now jumped on top of Frodo and tried to reach for the Ring even as Frodo grabbed his hands and tried to push him away. Gollum’s cheeks puffed with exertion as he struggled with Frodo, his enormous eyes fixed on the Ring. Sam grabbed hold of Gollum again and tore him away from Frodo. Gollum then turned around and he bit Sam on the shoulder, wriggled around and clasped his arms around Sam’s neck and legs around his waist in a death grip. Frodo unsheathed Sting and he held it against Gollum's throat.

"This is Sting. You’ve seen it before, haven’t you... Gollum! Release him or I’ll cut your throat!" Frodo said, menacingly. Fearing for his life, Gollum quickly loosened his grip on Sam, and the latter disentangled himself, and Gollum began to wail

The next morning, Gollum was being dragged with Sam's Elvish rope around his neck, and he wailed and he writhed in pain.

"It burns! It burns us! It freezes! Nasty Elves twisted it. Take it off us!" Gollum wailed.

"Quiet you!" Sam tugged fiercely at the rope, and Gollum cried some more, and he collapsed onto his back, and Sam turned to Frodo in dismay

"It’s hopeless! Every Orc in Mordor’s going to hear this racket! Let’s just tie him up and leave him." Sam snapped.

"No! That would kill us! Kill us!" Gollum continued to wail.

"It’s no more than you deserve!" Sam snapped at Gollum.

"Maybe he does deserve to die, but now that I see him, I do pity him." Frodo said, deep in thought.

"We be nice to them if they be nice to us. Take it off us. We swears to do what you wants. We swears." Gollum begged.

"There’s no promise you can make that I can trust."

"We swears to serve the master of the preciousss. We will swear on... on the precious. *Gollum. Gollum.*" Gollum choked.

"The Ring is treacherous. It will hold you to your word." Frodo said, serenely.

"Yes... on the preciousss. On the preciousss." Gollum said, desperately.

"I don’t believe you!"
Sam said, bitterly, and Gollum backed away, in fright, and he climbed onto a boulder.
"Get down! I said, down!" Sam jerked strongly at the rope, as Gollum tried to get away from him, and he crashed onto the ground, choking.

"Sam!" Frodo said.

"He’s trying to trick us! We let him go, he’ll throttle us in our sleep!" Sam shouted.
Gollum lay on the ground, and he panted, and he held his throat, and he backed away in fright, as Frodo approached him.

"You know the way to Mordor?" Frodo asked.

"Yes..." Gollum nodded, warily.

"You’ve been there before?" Frodo asked.

"Yes..." Gollum nodded again, and Frodo reached out, and he removed the rope noose off Gollum's neck, and Gollum seemed surprised, and relieved.

"You will lead us to the Black Gate." Frodo ordered, and Gollum scrambled off in the direction of Morannon, and the Hobbits followed in his wake.

"To the gate, to the gate! To the gate, the master says. Yes!" Smeagol said, excitedly.

"No! We won’t go back Not there. Not to him. They can’t make us. Gollum! Gollum!" Gollum sneered.

"But we swore to serve the master of the precious." Smeagol pleaded.

"No! Ashes and dust and thirst there is and pits, pits, pits. And Orcses, thousands of Orcses. And always the Great Eye watching. Watching." Gollum snarled, and he turned to the Hobbits in the distance, and he growled.

"Aaaarrrggghhh!!!" Gollum took off running, as fast as he could possibly go.

"Hey! Come back now! Come back! There! What did I tell you? He’s run off, the old villain. So much for his promises." Sam said, annoyed.

"This way, Hobbits." Smeagol said, as he reappeared behind a rock.

"Follow me!" With that, Frodo and Sam continued to follow their new leader.