AN; I have no excuse this time. I'm too damn lazy. ALSO! Remember that this is an AU. Some things I have changed to fit my story while others of course will remain the same.

Chapter 13 – Everything's alright.

But on your road,

Lest not forget the love I have for you.

-O-

It didn't take long to reach the great mountains in the forest of Mirkwood. The company of Elves had made quick work of setting up camp for the evening and now all were tending to those that were injured, some boiling herbs while others whispered calming words to take their minds of the pain that was assaulting them.

Frodo sat far away from the camp with his knees pressed against his legs and arms folded over them. He stared deeply into the darkness of the forest as his mind took him elsewhere, to a far much kinder and peaceful time; Where he was back at home in the Shire, reading his books by the fire place as Bilbo hummed a sweet Dwarven melody. He would trade anything in this world right now to be in the Dancing Dragon, drinking and laughing with his friends, just like good old times.

But he couldn't trade anything... And he wouldn't either.

He had seen far too many beautiful things that he wouldn't have seen in the Shire, learned languages and history just from being with those who lived through it. If he had a spare blank book with him now, he was sure that it would be filled with drawings and writings of what he had come across. He would gladly show Bilbo if he returned to him one day... To show him the adventure he had been on just like his Uncle sixty years ago.

A small sting above his heart made him gasp, his hand rubbing to soothe to pain.

The weight upon his chest, was far to great to forget however.

"The world now rests within your hands, Frodo Baggins."

The voice of the Lord Elrond echoed within him and broke all of his good natured thoughts. He remembered how scared he was (Valar, he is still scared now) of having such a great burden to carry, hells he was terrified when he found out what the Ring could do if Sauron was to reclaim it. The Shire would be nothing, his kin slaves for the Dark Lord while other races were slaughtered and tortured. The Elves most likely being experimented on so Sauron could create a new breed of Orc, stronger than what his previous Master had ever created.

"They would suffer so."

He shook his head from the cold voice that assaulted him, eyes blinking away from the deep darkness of Mirkwood's shadows. He knew what the Ring whispered to be true, the way it spoke to him was always cold and hard yet it felt as if those words it uttered were of promise; and that's what made everyday a little more harder for him.

Why does it torment me? He thought, hand now upon his head instead of his chest.

"Your heart is not swayed by my darkness, Frodo Baggins. It intrigues me."

A cold shiver tore up his spine at the mention of his name. Y-You know m-my...?

"But of course. I should know the name of the one who holds my Master's Ring, should I not?"

Laughter began to echo within his head, Frodo's eyes screwing shut and head shaking to try a get rid of the horrible voice that wasn't his own.

"I made a promise."

Frodo jumped at the voice, eyes flying open but did not turn to see who spoke those words. He knew who spoke them however, he did not believe it was truly him. He kept his eyes glued on the shadows before him, watching them dance as the fire light behind him flickered with the gentle breeze.

'Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean too."

Frodo finally turned to his friend, eyes widening as he became so overwhelmed by Sam actually sitting there besides him

Sam smiled softly down at his dear one, seeing the disbelief and great sadness within those icy blue orbs. "I don't mean too." He said again.

Frodo had no idea when the tears began to fall. Perhaps it was knowing Sam was alright and being next to him like old times or knowing that he was never truly alone, that Sam would always be there no matter what. "Oh Sam." The Halfling carefully leaned into his friends uninjured arm and held on tightly as he sobbed, loud cries echoing the small camp as each set of eyes turned at the sound, watching the small scene with happiness and relief.

"Shhh, you are gonna be alright, Mister Frodo, we all are." Sam hushed his dear friend, small tears of his own escaping him as he felt all the pain Frodo had felt from these last few weeks escape as he cried. "You will always have us, we aren't going anywhere."

"B-but! You are hurt; So badly hurt while I am not!" Frodo screamed, not bothered by who might hear him. "Pippin is scarred, Gimli is hurt as well as Boromir. Merry almost died, Aragorn is dying! All because of me, it's always because of me!"

"No, no no Mister Frodo, do not think like that." Sam shook his head. "We are hurt from protecting you. I've broken bones before and this is nothing. You are the most important person on this quest and if you get hurt, then of course you get hurt. But as long as you know deep down inside, that you were hurt because one of us could not be there to protect you. We will always be your side no matter what, Mister Frodo. In life and or in death, we will always be there."

Frodo sniffed as he pulled away, wiping at his eyes to clear away the tears. "'In life and or in death'... Don't you go dying on me Sam." He said with a tiny smile.

Sam chuckled "Only if you don't do the same, Mister Frodo."

Frodo nodded "Thank you, for always knowing what to say and being there for me. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

Sam stuttered, wiping his own tears while Frodo scoffed at how red he was turning "I-I-I, urm, you are ver-very welcome. I-I also wouldn't have gotten this far."

Frodo hugged Sam again and both listened to soft footprints coming from behind them. They both turned around to see Tauriel now standing just a few steps from them.

"Would you both like to sit closer to the fire now?" She asked with a smile "The shadows can be great company but I'm sure they don't keep you warm."

Sam nodded and with his friends help, both stood and followed behind the Elf. "Urm, Ms, how much longer will we be here for?"

"My name is Tauriel, young one." She said, turning her head around "And we shall rest for another half hour but no later than that."

As they reached the fire, Frodo sat down with Sam and accepted the bowl of broth from one of the Elves. He glanced round and almost dropped his bowl when he saw Merry, Pippin, Gimli and Boromir all smiling back at him with huge grins upon there faces. "You all are-?"

"Evening Frodo!" Merry and Pippin laughed.

"You gave us quite the scare then little one." Boromir said.

"Can't we quieten down just a tad bit Laddies, got a banging headache." Gimli mumbled but nevertheless gave a small wave.

Frodo felt tears beginning to make there way down his cheeks again "I-I'm so glad you are all okay." He sniffed.

"Aye, we are glad you are too!" Pippin exclaimed "From the crying over there, I thought Sam might have killed you!" He laughed.

"Is now the best time for those sort of jokes, Pippin?" Merry questioned.

"When there's moments like these, of course!" The youngest Hobbit chuckled.

Frodo huffed out a laugh and then looked at Merry "Are you okay?"

Merry looked at him and nodded "They said plenty of rest but I believe I've already had enough. Said I was lucky because I hadn't had the wound for too long like Strider has. I've got this cool scar now though which will make for plenty of awesome stories when we get back home. I just have to be extra careful from now on."

Frodo nodded while the others chuckled and Gimli grumbled.

"The question now is are you okay Frodo?" Boromir asked, seeing the sad expression on his face.

"I will be." He said "I'm just so happy you are all awake, besides from Strider. How is he doing? All I know is that he woke up a few days ago but that was it."

As Boromir was about to answer, Tauriel came back over, wiping her hands on a piece of fabric. "Aragorn is well, we have stopped the infection for now but like I have said, our head healer will have to look at him, the same with you all." Merry and Pippin gulped. "You are not all out of danger yet, we all aren't for that matter."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, brow furrowing.

"While you were all still unconscious, we ran into a bit of bad luck." Frodo looked down and took a small sip from his bowl. "Orcs and Nazgûl follow our trail."

"WHAT?!" Gimli exclaimed but then immediately groaned, hand flying to soother his aching head.

Tauriel continued "We slowed them down, however if they kept up with the pursuit then we are only a day ahead of them. After this rest we will continue on through the mountain pass, this will take two days to cross. After that, only then do we have five days to reach our halls."

"So another long journey ahead." Merry grumbled.

"When is there ever a short journey for us, little one?" Boromir smiled, lightening the mood as Pippin nodded in agreement.

"May I ask something, urm, Tauriel?" Merry said, almost whispering which caught all the Fellowship's attention.

"And what may that be?"

"Urm, the blonde Elf that captured us... Where is he?" He asked. Frodo dropped his spoon into his bowl and looked around. Merry was right, he wasn't here! Maybe he had escaped? Oh no! He was going to come back, kill them all, all his friends, make him watch, make him suffer and- no, No, NO, JUST NOT AGAIN! CAN'T LET-

"Mister Frodo!" Frodo whipped his head around to face Sam. "It's okay, look." He pointed and Frodo's eyes followed.

"We placed him furthest away from the group." Tauriel explained "He seems more at one with the darkness so it's only sensible to put him in it. He grows weaker due to his previous head wound yet it is fully healed." She furrowed her brow. "It is strange. We can only presume it is his wound that is causing him to act this way."

"Aragorn said it was strange as well. He didn't voice it but you could hear it in the Lad's voice." Gimli said, painfully remembering back to when they were in Isengard. "When he received the wound, he should have been out for a day or two even with you Elves' fast healing yet he woke up a few minutes later." Tauriel hummed.

"Didn't Saruman say something about the Dark Lord giving him something when he was a babe?" Boromir questioned, looking at Frodo who nodded in return.

"Yes I remember."

"Aye! Me too." Pippin agreed.

"If Sauron did do something, then that would explain why he is healing as quick as he is." The red-head turned, facing the said Elf still being restrained by two others even in sleep. "Môrgos." She called and Frodo finally received the name of the strange Elf that carried him most of the way. "Have you heard anything of the sort before?"

"Give me a few moments." The Elf grumbled but then vanished up into the trees.

Tauriel turned back around to the group around the fire "We will receive an answer soon. He knows a lot about different herbs and magic that Sauron may have used."

"Urm, why is he so odd looking?" Pippin questioned, voicing what everyone (besides Frodo) was thinking. Merry frowned and slapped his arm for being rude. Pippin was just glad it wasn't his leg!

"Ah, he is of a different race of Elf, not Silvan or Sindar like most in Mirkwood. There is only he and one other."

"And what are they?" Sam questioned.

"They are the Avari. Many of their kin have fled these lands to the north, some have stayed in other forests across Middle-Earth. They are secretive and dangerous, more so than what you hear about us Wood Elves." She said, taking a seat besides Frodo and poking at the fire until it crackled.

"Why are they so different?"

"You are a very curious Hobbit, Peregrine." Tauriel smiled, Pippin muttering a soft sorry under his breath. "Nay, it is fine. You all have the right to know as you are traveling with us. Many believe they are different because they refused to follow the Valar and the light of the two trees. They stayed within the darkness of these lands and refused any knowledge or help from those in Valinor." She looked down to Frodo too see his bowl empty, lifting the piece of wood out of his hands and into a bag beside the fire. "They are a dark race and many of us shy away from them."

"Ha, don't blame ya' Lass." Gimli said "Get an odd feeling just looking at him."

"I am glad you have noticed it too." The Elf nodded. "It is not unusual to feel such a way."

"Why is that?" Boromir asked.

"They were once loyal followers to Morgoth." She ignored the shocked look from those around her. "Where we have a natural soft glow, they do not. They are more human than Elf at times yet are just as fearsome as Orcs in battle. It is like I said, they refused the light so the only thing they felt right was to follow the shadows. Morgoth manipulated many of them into believing he could make the world accept them, to make others believe they were more than just abominations and monsters like the Orcs."

"He lied to them."

"Just like any other who promises power." Tauriel shook her head. "My King took the two of them in, many disagreed but he could not leave two babes out in these woods alone, let alone to burn to death in the remains of what was their home. The pain of losing his own was still, and forever will be, fresh. However, what they have already seen and heard, I do not blame them for being the way they are."

"Yet many of you do."

A voice startled the Fellowship and all turned to see Môrgos dropping out of the trees above.

"Môrgos, I-"

"Avá." *Don't* The Avari sneered before breathing in deeply, calming himself. "About what the Elf was given... I couldn't remember anything that helps speed along the process of healing yet have a negative effect such as this. I will have to speak to Eryn about it when we return. She knows more about this then I do." With that, he walked away from the group, unsheathing a sword and disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

Tauriel sighed as she watched him go. "I apologise, he has a bad temperament."

"Would have never of guessed, Lass." Gimli scoffed.

Tauriel huffed out a laugh "Come, if you wish for more food than please, help yourselves but be quick. Hopefully, we shall leave in five minutes."

Frodo and the others watched her get up and walk away.

"Well atleast we found out something new."

Merry groaned. "Shut up, Pippin."

-O-

Sorry if you were expecting more. Please remember once again! It is an AU, some things will be canon while others will not. I changed the Avari to fit my story so please, please remember that.

Reviews;

wenduo; I totally agree! It put me off the Hobbit so much because having the idea of Legolas actually being in love with someone was so strange to me. Yeah, anyone who insult's Tauriels friends and those she calls family will have a swift death. Just glad the other Elf stopped her before she could continue *laughs*

noulis; I'm always worrying, worrying helps me get through life.

Bellasiel; Awww well thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it *blushes*. Hope you enjoy this one just as much!

FateOfChaos; I've always wanted to do a dark story so I put everything on hold and did it *smiles evilly*. Thank you so much, glad you love it!

BelleCelestyn; No romance at all will be involved in this story except for canon love; Arwen and Aragorn, Faramir and Éowyn. I'm not a big fan of romance anyways so it would feel wrong putting it in *smiles*.

Bella13446; I just worry to much about the reaction I'm going to get from reviews and I worry that they aren't going to like it which makes me upset! This is why some chapters are very late out *laughs nervously*. Thank you for telling me that, very much appreciated *smiles*.

Lord Illyren; THEY WILL! Don't worry, Thranduil will be here soon and I'm literally buzzing myself that you all get to read about Thranduil soon ahhhh. I have no idea when Tauriel will remember because she has never seen the Prince! There are very few blonde Elves in Mirkwood, so she is very confused at the moment as to why he looks familiar.

Ange; The next chapter will definitely come very soon! I've got my writing mojo back. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I'm very glad that you love this story so much to keep reviewing, I'm so thankful *cries tears of joy*

imnotraven16; Thank you.

~Mennai ento lúmë, namárië~