FIC: Hourglass - Chapter Nine - The Ring of Yew

Having decided to really try and make headway with this fic - I have finished chapter nine and I'm posting it up tonight so I can move on with the rest. I'm sorry if I'm overloading people with too much to read, but this chapter is a little shorter than the rest. I'm writing this quick - while I feel inspired. I wrote this chapter in a very excited state, I hope it makes sense. Frodo learns a few secrets and makes his choice. :)I know I promised *smut* but that seems to be holding out for chapter ten - I think that's why I'm rushing on too - got to get there quick! Too much angst - need some loving... :DTITLE: Hourglass - Chapter Nine - The Ring of YewAUTHOR: IgrainePAIRING: F/S F/OCRATING: NC-17 - This part is PG-13TIMELINE: Pre-questSUMMARY: Frodo is drawn onto a dangerous path. How can Sam protect what isn't his?DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to JRR Tolkien. I promise to return them unharmed. I make no money. :(CHAPTER NINE – The Ring of YewI am a spirit of no common rate:The summer still doth tend upon my state;And I do love thee. Therefore go with me.William Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s DreamDeep in the heart of the forest the light grew dim. The pale red winter’s sky was captured and restrained by a web of dark branches and what sunlight there was left, was soon extinguished. Old oak trees that shimmered emerald in the summer, now stood patient through the dead months, holding their breath and underfoot lay a soft carpet of decay. There was a path through the trees, but it was a secret way and little known. Asher swore the elves showed him and he had followed, hastening to catch a handful of their silver lights. They lured him and baffled him with their songs, dragging him under bushes and through thickets, until he was tattered and torn. When he felt himself close upon their tail, they fled into the dark trees and left him breathless and panting, laughing in a clearing of yew trees, powerful with an old magic – a black ring in the middle of the white oaks. Frodo fought to keep up with Asher’s quick footsteps as the younger hobbit leapt nimbly over fallen logs and climbed up steep banks, his hands clutching at roots and branches as his feet scrambled behind, quick as a fox. Every now and then Asher would sit down and wait as Frodo struggled to catch up. His heart pounding, Frodo clambered up a vertical bank, struggling for breath and cursing his months of inactivity. Hauling himself upwards, hand over hand, whenever he raised his head he saw the mighty oaks lining the summit like formidable men, their faces stern and appraising. Asher had climbed the lower branches of one of the trees and sat watching Frodo, his feet dangling and dancing, his face split with a smile. When at last he reached the trees, Frodo slumped down on the ground exhausted. Asher jumped down with a soft thud and lay on the forest floor, golden leaves and vermilion moss creeping through his hair, like a crown. His eyes sparkled as he looked up at Frodo, who was loosening his collar and trying to catch his breath.“Do you happen to have a pipe?” Asher asked. “I fancy a smoke.”Frodo sighed and rootled in the pack he had thrown down on the ground beside him. His hand soon located the smooth curving wood and the soft green pouch and these he threw to Asher, who grinned his thanks and began to light up, the flash of flame fierce in the still, dark air. “Was that story true – about the elves?” Frodo asked, turning to Asher, who was lying on his back blowing little interconnecting smoke rings.“Of course!” Asher replied, smiling.“I never know whether to believe a word you say.” Frodo lay back beside him, watching the rings drifting up into the imprisoned sky.“Then you are a hobbit of good sense,” Asher replied, avoiding Frodo’s eye.“Who are you, anyway?” “Who am I? I’m anything you want me to be, Frodo.” “No, truthfully, I want to know. No more moonshine, please,” Frodo urged, turning his face towards Asher’s. As their eyes interlocked, Frodo saw the fauntling emerge, soft eyed and needy inside the changeling face. “What do you want to know?” Asher’s voice was light, but Frodo could sense the unease beneath, a tremor of nervous energy caught up in his fingers turning over the scattered leaves.“Why have you run away from your family?” Asher flinched at the direct question and tossed handfuls of leaves into the air as he felt about for an answer. “You met my brothers,” he said. “I did,” Frodo replied. “They seemed to love you dearly.”Asher snorted and laughed aloud, a brutal, cold sound that rang through the air. “Love!” he cried. “Love?”“Tell me,” Frodo said, softly.Without warning, Asher clambered to his feet, shaking out and stamping on the contents of the pipe. Then he walked away, his body a silhouette against the red sky on the summit of the rise. Frodo rose to follow, angry with himself for upsetting the lad, but eager to hear more, his feet sliding in his haste. Catching up with Asher, they walked one behind the other, tracking the path from memory, Asher striding determinedly ahead, Frodo padding behind. The trees slept, the animals hid for fear of snow. Not a living thing stirred and the air promised sleep. “They don’t know the meaning of the word, Frodo…” Asher continued, speaking in short bursts, in rhythm with his long loping strides, his booted feet leaving deep imprints in the moss, the only evidence of their passage. “Oh they keep me close…I’m the youngest, you see...and the cleverest…and the prettiest…” he added, turning to wink at Frodo. “They want to keep me but they won’t …not anymore…they won’t have me under their hands again.”Half running, they came upon the glade suddenly and even Asher seemed surprised to see the dark yew trees looming up ahead. He stopped dead in his tracks, allowing Frodo to slip over to his side. “Is this the place?” Frodo asked, relieved that they had last reached their destination, for he was weary and longing to rest.Asher nodded. “It is – I didn’t expect to see it so soon, it’s as if it’s moved to a different spot of it’s own accord. Do you think that’s possible, Frodo?”“I don’t know!” Frodo smiled. “I’d like to think so.”“So would I!” Asher pushed forwards, breaking through the wet, prickly branches and disappearing from view.Frodo soon followed, curious to know what lay beyond. Putting his shoulder against the dark canopy, the heady pinewood scent filled his senses as he plunged into the dense curtain. Blinking, he found himself standing on the other side. The grass was green and soft and here and there white star flowers bloomed eerily, their light vivid and uncanny. Asher sat in the midst of them and at his feet lay a ring of rocks inside which he quickly arranged a fire, gathering sticks from the clearing. Spinning around, Frodo noticed a rough shelter built of branches and covered with sodden blankets. “Have you slept here at night?” Frodo asked, thrilled at the magic that hummed in the secret place. Asher nodded, feeding the fire with sticks. “Once only. They soon found me – they always do.”“They were worried about you?” Asher laughed mirthlessly. “You really don’t see do you Frodo? They don’t care about me they just want to control me. They won’t let me be free – they won’t let me make my own choices – they won’t even let me love…”Frodo crouched down beside Asher, passing him some larger logs, the heat of the leaping flames prickling his skin. “You have loved?”“I have – once. But they soon put an end to that.”“I’m sorry…” Frodo replied.“It’s all right.” Asher turned to Frodo and looked at him with blinding gentleness. “I have you now.”Frodo’s heart plummeted within him like a stone and his body froze. “Asher…”Asher got to his feet and walked over to the shelter that stood nearby. Laying his cloak on the ground, he sat down and beckoned Frodo to join him. “Don’t worry, the grass is dry.” Sitting down, Frodo sank into the soft ground and watched the fire dancing in the heart of the circle. “He loves you, doesn’t he?” Frodo drew a silent breath and held it ragged in his throat. “I don’t know…”“Then you must be a fool and you’re no fool,” Asher stroked a fingertip over Frodo’s full mouth.“I don’t think he knows what he wants, he’s young…”“I’m young – I know what I want.”“I know that!” Frodo turned to Asher and put an arm around his jutting shoulders as he sat, taut, hugging his own knees, looking for all the world like a sulking tween despite his words. “I tried to put him off, you know. I did my best. I wanted you for myself, I still do. I wanted to lure you away with me and ravish you on the green grass.” Asher rocked slowly forwards and backwards on his heels.Frodo tightened his grip on Asher’s shoulder, pulling him against him and resting his chin on the black crown. “Where is your mother, Asher?”“She’s gone, many years gone…”Frodo bent his head and gently kissed Asher’s forehead, the skin cool and moist against his lips. Asher looked up, in his eyes a world of sorrow. “I thought you were the answer!”“And you were mine.” “But you belong to him, to the gardener.”“To Sam.”Asher nodded, a tear trickling down his cheek, which he swiftly swiped away. “Look at me – idiot lad, good for nowt!”“Shhhh, don’t say hard things, don’t…” Frodo soothed Asher gently and caressed his hair. Asher jumped back, crouching and staring at Frodo as if he had burned him. “And don’t you go feeling sorry for me and stroking me without no promise of anything better. I don’t want it.”“Sorry, I’m sorry…” Frodo reached out a hand but Asher drew away and stalked over to the fire, kicking at it with his boots.“You were nowt next to him anyway – precious, he was.”“What happened?” Asher shook his head, his cheeks flushed with agitation. “They took him away, didn’t they? They saw us together, him and me, here in the circle. I was taking him - I had him up against that tree and it was the best thing I ever had and ever likely will…”“You loved him.”“Yes, I loved him, Frodo. I would have torn up that tree and pulled down the moon for him. I would have sunk myself in the water…”Frodo looked at Asher startled, his eyes widening. “Was that why you were there that day – on the ice? Did you mean to do it?”Asher laughed, his face turning evasive once again. “Now that would be telling.”Frodo shook his head. “Telling tales?”“Shall we?” ~~~A long while they lay together, side by side on the fragrant grass, the yew trees keeping out the cold and the snow clouds rolling in. “So, Frodo, will you come with me?” Asher said, twining their fingers together. “Free yourself?”“Leave Sam?”“Leave it all – find the other side of the sea, lie with me – learn to deceive. I think you’d be good.”Frodo turned his face into the flowers. “I can’t.” “Not for me?”“Not even for you.”“My heart will break, but it is your choice, friend,” Asher sighed, staring up as the first flakes fell silent as stars. “Don’t say that – you’re stronger than me.” Frodo felt a tiny wet kiss melting upon his nose. “I’m a liar and a thief.”“So am I.”Asher turned on his elbow and leaned over Frodo. “May I have a last kiss before I go?”“Where are you going, Asher?” “I’m going to find what lies beyond.”Frodo raised a hand and drew Asher down, their lips pressing warm as the cold ice fell around them beautiful and sear. When it was over, Asher sat up and began to pull out packages from inside his long, heavy coat. “What are you doing?” Frodo asked, staring as more and more bags were produced, like rabbits from a hat.“Restoration,” Asher replied, opening up a leather pouch and tipping the contents into Frodo’s lap. “They told me what to do. I was only obeying orders, sir.”Frodo’s gaze widened as he saw what it was that lay in a heavy heap in his lap. Trinkets and mathoms, mainly, small, fine things - old timepieces, quills, candlesticks, spoons, trinkets and jewellery – a ring. Frodo started, grabbing the small circle of gold and thrusting it safely into his pocket. Asher watched him enviously; assessing with his eyes as if weighing up how easy Frodo would be to pin defenceless to the ground. “I didn’t want it, anyway,” Asher said, dragging his eyes away. “They wanted it. They asked for it.”Frodo piled the objects into his pack and drew it tight securely. “Thank you for returning them,” Frodo said. “They are Bilbo’s things and they are in my safekeeping.”Asher smiled. “My pleasure. But it comes with a price.”Frodo hefted the pack onto his back and looked up. “And what is that?”“If I need help, you will give it. I know what that is, Frodo. A magic ring would come in very useful if I need to disappear.” “Granted.” Frodo turned away and searched about for the way through the trees. “You will need my help, you won’t find your way alone.”“I must get back – Sam will be waiting. I have a good memory and I trust the fair ones to help me should I fall onto a false track.”Asher walked up to him and laid a hand on Frodo’s shoulder. “Love him – if you must.”“I think I must.”“So be it, then. But I fear for you, Frodo.”“Take care, Asher. Come back and tell me about the sea.”“I will, friend.” Asher leaned forwards and kissed Frodo softly on the brow. “See you in the spring, if not before and I’ll be ready to take you if you are willing.”“You won’t give up?” Frodo said, his eyebrow quirking. “Not when I’ve set my sights on something.”“Farewell, for now,” Frodo said, eager to leave before the snow began in earnest. Before Frodo could disappear from sight, Asher called to him. “Don’t tell them, Frodo. Don’t tell them anything!”Frodo turned, the snow lashing his pale face, his blue eyes glimmering with resolve. “I won’t let them find you.” Asher waved his farewell and then moved back into the shelter, curling up in his blankets, watchful and tearless, his dark eyes assessing the sky. Frodo watched for a moment then walked away, pushing through the trees and hitting the cold, sharp open space of the forest, a puzzle of branches and snow dazzling and bemusing. Steeling himself, his thoughts focused on one single bright point of light; Frodo plunged onto the remembered path, feeling his way with a second sight he hardly knew he had, treading so swift and quiet, the rabbits loped across his path without a second glance and the fox trotted alongside, his nose to the ground. I’m coming home, Sam. I’m coming home…To be continued…