With a sigh he turned away. What should he do? What would Mithrandir have me do? he wondered. He would not have me sit here sorrowing forever - I think he would rather that I did something. Aldamir smiled. Mithrandir, though he always seemed to hurrying somewhere or the other, would still take time to sit and smoke his pipe, sending smoke-rings everywhere, to the Elves� amusement. Other memories of the wizard welled up in his mind, and for several silent moments he stood thinking.
A motion among the trees caught his eye. An elf stood there - a dark-haired Elf who Aldamir did not recognize. He did not seem to be an Elf of Lorien - he looked to be from further North. Indeed, he was gazing about in awe and wonder at Lorien, and Aldamir figured that perhaps it was the first time he had been to the Golden Wood.
He waited until the Elf was closer. Then he stirred, and for the first time, the Elf noticed him. He started slightly, and gazed deep into Aldamir�s eyes. Aldamir gazed back, and the two seemed to find friendship in each other�s eyes, even without having spoken a word.
Finally Aldamir broke the silence. � Mae govannen, mellon. You do not seem to me to be of this Wood. Who are you?�
The Elf smiled. �Indeed, I am not. I am of Rivendell, of Elrond�s house, and my name is Lindir.�
�And I am Aldamir.� Aldamir bowed slightly. �Welcome to Lorien! Have you visited the Golden Wood ever before?�
�No. Its beauty fills me with wonder; never have I seen anything like it.� Lindir put out a hand and stroked a mallorn�s smooth bark.
Aldamir smiled. �Lothlorien is little like any other place in Middle-earth.�
�That I can see."
Aldamir grinned, and motioned to a stone. �Sit down with me. Tell me, if you come from Rivendell, than you must know
something about these Travelers? They intrigue me, especially the little ones.�
Lindir laughed. �They are intriguing. And yes, I know much of them, seeing that I lived with them for several weeks!�
�How can that be?�
�They came to Rivendell in late October - the four hobbits and Aragorn, that is. The others joined later - I�ll come to that. But they came in October; I cannot remember the date. They were in a terrible hurry to get to Rivendell and all of them were worried, because Frodo - do you know which one he is?�
�Yes, yes - the dark-haired one. I have seen him. But what was it with him?�
Lindir hesitated slightly; the memory seemed to pain him. �He had been wounded by the leader of the Nazgul. The Witch-king stabbed him, in his left shoulder, with an accursed Morgul-knife - when he came to us, he as yet had the tip of it in his shoulder.�
Aldamir started. �He was wounded by an accursed knife of the Nazg�l? How horrible for him...�
Lindir nodded. �He suffered terribly. He was barely conscious when he was given into Elrond�s care - I am certain that in a few more hours he would have been dead, or worse. Elrond did not leave his side until he was certain that the hobbit would survive. I was there with him, and it was awful to see Frodo suffer so. It cut to the heart to hear him cry out if someone touched his wound.� Lindir put his hand to his forehead, and sat for a moment in silence.
Aldamir was gazing into the distance, wonder and sorrow in his eyes. �What a horrible experience that must have been,� he said softly. �I know now why I seemed to see a light shining about him.�
Lindir raised his head and nodded. �It was easy for us Elves to see, especially right after he recovered. There was
constantly that light about him, and especially the left hand, but that faded somewhat as he recovered. None of us thought he could make it - we were amazed when he survived. He had an extraordinary resistance to the poison - I have never seen anything like it.�
�I have seen the courage in him, but to resist such poison.....that indeed takes strength.�
�It does.....I tell you, I was stunned when he survived. I was with him nearly the whole time Elrond was working over
him, and it�s unbelievable that he was able to make it. You can�t imagine how relieved and glad we were when at last the pain began to leave his face, and he sank into a deep, healing sleep. I think Elrond worked over him for a few days.�
�I would never have thought that he would be able to survive. But why is it at all that they are on this journey, with all these dangers like Nazg�l about them?�
Lindir hesitated. When he spoke, it was in a very low voice. �You know of the Ring of Power forged long ago by the Dark One, do you not?�
Aldamir started again, this time in apprehension. �Yes.....I do. Isildur took it, but it was lost, and none know of its whereabouts. What does that have to do with Frodo?�
�He carries it on a chain about his neck.�
�What?�
�It has been found. It was found sixty years ago by Frodo�s uncle Bilbo - he carried it for sixty years, not knowing in the least how powerful it was. When he turned 111, he left it to Frodo and came to live with us in Rivendell. Little did he know how that ring would turn Frodo�s life upside down........ It was Mithrandir who discovered the identity of the Ring. He bade Frodo to go to a town called Bree and meet him in a pub, but Mithrandir was held prisoner by Saruman and was unable to meet Frodo there. Frodo met Aragorn at Bree, and with him, journeyed to Rivendell. It was on that journey that Frodo was wounded. After he had recovered, Elrond held a council of all the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, and there the Ring was revealed, and the decision was reached that it had to be destroyed. Frodo took it upon himself to take it to the Mountain of Doom, and there cast it into the fire from whence it came.�
Aldamir had been listening in intrigued silence. Now he spoke up. �He took it upon himself, of his own choice, to carry that thing of pure evil into the land of its making? He has more courage than a great many Elves.�
�He does indeed. We were all shocked when he spoke up. I shall never forget seeing him there, jumping to his feet and telling us that he would take it.� Lindir paused for a moment. �Elrond formed a Fellowship of Nine to accompany him on the journey. Mithrandir joined them, as did Aragorn, Boromir��
�Boromir - is he the other man?�
�Yes. Also joining them were Legolas, Gimli��
�The Elf and the dwarf?�
�Yes, and will you let me finish my sentence?� asked Lindir, giving Aldamir a jab in the ribs. �I�ll never finish at this rate!�
Aldamir grinned. �Forgive me - speak on.�
�Legolas and Gimli.....ah yes, and two - no, three of Frodo�s kin: Samwise, Meriadoc and Peregrin.�
�Thank you, and will you now please tell me which one is who?� Aldamir gave Lindir a teasing grin.
�You rascal! Do you think I wouldn�t tell you? Sam is the one who is always near Frodo - he is Frodo�s closest companion. Merry and Pippin are the other two - it may a few days to tell which is which. It took me three days, anyway. Legolas is an Elf of Mirkwood, Gimli a dwarf of Erebor.�
�The dwarf behaved rather badly when he first came to us. I will not repeat what he said.�
�Don�t,� said Lindir. �But I do believe that he has a strong affection for the little ones - he is a brave, goodhearted dwarf. Don�t blame him too strongly.�
Aldamir shrugged. �He has yet to prove himself in my eyes.� He stood up. �But I have detained you here far too long. Will you not come to my flet and meet Uruviel, my wife? I am sure she would love to hear everything you have told me.�
Lindir stood up as well. �I�d be delighted to!�
Aldamir grinned. �Come with me, mellon.�