"Isildur! Cast the Ring into the fire!" Elrond stood on the edge of the cliff, looking deep into Mount Doom's heart. His face was grime streaked. The heat of the flames had smeared human, Elf, and Orc blood and mixed it with dirt and sweat.
Isildur looked up from the bright gold circle he was turning over in his hands and smiled wickedly. "No."
Elrond stared with his mouth open and his eyes dark and cloudy with anger and fear as Isildur turned and strolled from the chamber. At the last second, Elrond made a fateful decision. He leapt from the edge of the cliff and tackled Isildur. Together, they rolled around on the limestone floor, grappling and rolling, each trying to gain the upper hand. Exhaustion wore at them both for the battle with Sauron and his forces had been long. The Elf's superior strength should have given him a superior advantage. However, that strength was negated by the Ring's hold over Isildur, lending the Man strength and will beyond his own.
They rolled to the very brink of the abyss and Isildur's clenched fist was force out over the chasm by Elrond. Flames and heat erupted from the heart of the volcano and the Man screamed. Still he did not relinquish his hold on the Ring. Tucking his foot under Elrond's body, he heaved with all his might and Elrond went rolling away. Clutching his injured hand to his chest, Isildur fled the chamber.
Helplessly, Elrond watched him leave.
The close brush with the fires of Mount Doom had greatly damaged the One Ring, though not enough that it could not fend for itself. And when it was finished with Isildur, the Ring betrayed him.
Little Gollum's fingers closed around his friend's throat. "Give it to me," he screamed, choking the life from his best friend. "It's my birthday and I want it."
His friend, who'd found the gold ring buried deep in the river silt, lay limply in Gollum's strong grasp. His vision swam, and even if he'd wanted to, he was unable to draw breath to consent. His eyes rolled back in his head and, at last, life fled his body. Gollum blinked. Fear grabbed his heart for he knew that he had killed his best friend. Straightening his shoulder, Gollum rearranged his clothes. The ring was his, should have been given to him. Today was his birthday.
He retrieved the shiny gold band and turned it over in his fingers. The metal was cool and smooth to the touch, without flaw or blemish. He slipped it on to his finger and watched in amazement as his entire hand vanished. He laughed. He would be able to snitch tarts from his grandmother's table without anyone being the wiser.
His eyes drifted to his friend's lifeless body and clouded over for a moment. Decisively, he rolled the body beneath a rotten log wedged in the muddy banks of the river and without looking back, headed for home.
On the outskirts of his village, he finally removed the ring from his hand. He glanced around, wondering where he could hide the ring from prying eyes. At last, he settled for the front of his trousers. Quickly, before anyone noticed, he hid the ring in the one place no one would ever find it. He shivered a little as the cool metal touched his male flesh. He reached his hand down and adjusted the ring more comfortably.
The hoopla over his missing companion took hours to die down. But the ring, hidden deep inside Gollum's clothing added glibness to the little one's tongue that he did not possess. He lied, or, perhaps the ring lied, for certainly Gollum had never displayed so much cunning on his own. He led search parties to the where he claimed he'd last seen his friend and wailed and cried as he led them further and further from where the body lay hidden.
At last, he was allowed to return to his grandmother's
house. The ring had slipped around inside his trousers, exciting him in an
unfamiliar way. He'd longed to reach his hand inside the front of his pants,
but he could not without attracting attention.
Therefore it was with great relief that he escaped to the tiny corner of his
grandmother's hut that he called his own.
He pulled open his trousers and glanced inside, to find the ring. Gollum blinked and stared. Stared some more. Finally a look of shock and horror widened his already large eyes. His mouth pulled down in dismay. His lungs filled with oxygen and a howl of pure fear escaped from his throat.
"Precious is loooossst!"
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