Studying the Map

[engarian.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Prompt and Path:The Road goes ever on and on, Red
Format:Ficlet
Genre:Gapfiller
Rating:G
Warnings:None
Characters:Frodo, Aragorn
Pairings:None
Creator’s Notes:Tolkien provided the sandbox, I merely play with the bucket and shovel he left behind. No profit of any kind is made from my fanworks.
Summary:Frodo spends much of his time in Elrond's study where Aragorn finds him one rainy afternoon.



Studying the Map


There was a large map in Elrond's study. Frodo often spent his spare time standing there, gazing at it intently. After he had accepted the Quest to destroy Sauron's Ring he could be found staring at the map for hours at a time. Aragorn, found him there one stormy afternoon.

"Why do you study the map so intently, Frodo? By now you already have looked at our route, possible choices, and your ultimate goal for many hours, even days."

Frodo turned and looked at Aragorn, then turned again toward the map. "Bilbo used to say that all roads were but one branch of a whole, and that they all tied together. I've already journeyed farther than any other hobbit I know, with the exception of dear Bilbo, but now I'm looking at new roads, new lands, and new dangers." Turning to Aragorn, he continued.

"I know I'll have guides - you, Boromir, Legolas, even grumpy Gimli will have a good idea of where we are going; and I know Gandalf will lead us true. But … I can't count on others to show me every branching from the road that I may face. I must be confident that if I need to, I can continue this Quest alone and take this dreadful item to where it must go."

He turned back to the map once again. "The Shire looks so small in the greater world when I look at this map. It's the Shire that fills my heart; the Shire and the safety of my neighbors, the Bolgers and Boffinses, Cottons and Proudfoots. If I don't succeed, even though we are small and unassuming, the Shire will be endangered because all folk with good hearts will be under attack."

Again he turned to look at Aragorn. "I am doing this because roads traveled down can be traveled up again. While we can travel down from the Shire to lands of danger, the danger can as easily travel back up to the Shire. If I can prevent darkness from affecting a land I love, I'll do it. My road goes south."

As Frodo turned to look at the map one more time, Aragorn stepped up next to him, clapping his hand upon the hobbit's shoulder. "In that case, Frodo, let me explain to you in greater detail, exactly where I see our road carrying us."

Comments

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

What a lovely moment. I like the idea of Elrond allowing Frodo into his study and I love your thought that roads can be traveled both ways. It took Merry and Pippin a bit longer to reach that conclusion.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I think that Frodo was well trained by Bilbo, a hobbit who had left the Shire and managed to return again. He's scholarly, thoughtful, and although I doubt he truly understood exactly what he was agreeing to at this point, I think he, like any of the hobbits, would do whatever was necessary to protect his home and his people.

- Erulisse (one L)