Chapter Text
As Aragorn returned to the other side of the island, nobody was to be seen around. He frowned and decided to climb one of the coconut trees to the very top so that he could look over a larger area. From there, he saw Legolas and Gimli, trying to catch Gollum who jumped from stone to stone, mocking the elf and the dwarf during their futile attempts to circle him properly. Aragorn smiled, noticing how happy Gollum looked, as if the three were just playing a very interesting game.
Then, he saw two small figures in the shadow of the mango forest. He looked carefully and noticed that it were just Merry and Pippin who had surprisingly found the way without ever having been to this side of the island. How come that hobbits always showed up when they were least expected?
Noticing the ranger, Pippin smiled and beckoned, running over to him shortly followed by Merry. They stopped right under the coconut tree and looked up.
"Have you found Frodo yet?" Merry asked, looking quite full of hope.
"Can you throw down a coconut?" Pippin asked, looking quite hungry.
"Can you two keep silence for a moment?" Aragorn asked, looking quite worried as he heard a scraping sound, faint and far away.
The two hobbits looked at each other and obeyed.
Again! A soft, scraping sound like wood brushing against stone, but so far away that it was nearly inaudible.
His view blocked by the mango trees, Aragorn could not see where the sound came from or what it even meant, yet he felt that something dangerous was waiting.
"I have not found Frodo," he reluctantly answered Merry's question after a while, whispering only.
"And how about the coconuts?" Pippin asked, slowly getting impatient. His stomach was grumbling loudly and he was tired after his cousin had forced him to look for Frodo everywhere. They set out in a company of three, though they lost Sam somewhere on the way, which had only caused Merry to be more worried and Pippin to fear that they'd now lose their only cook.
Staring at the youngest hobbit in disbelief, Aragorn grabbed one of the coconuts and threw it down, aiming at Pippin's arm as the other stepped forward a little and got it right on his head.
Both Aragorn and Merry drew a sharp breath as a loud thud was to be heard, but the hobbit did not even sway.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed and caught the coconut as it bounced off, already split in two. Eagerly, he sat down started eating.
Aragorn and Merry exchanged concerned glances but kept silent even as the ranger climbed down and the older hobbit followed him into the forest, leaving Pippin behind who didn't even notice. Food was truly more interesting than worrying about Frodo - after all, it was not like Frodo would be shot today, he believed.
On the other side of the island, Boromir and Frodo had just arrived, both frowning as they saw nobody around.
"They are probably out to search for me so they can kill me," Boromir said bitterly, sinking down on a flat, wide stone. He covered his face with his hands so that Frodo would not see the tears that he could no longer hold back.
"Don't say that! They are only worried, is all. They surely never meant to hurt you," Frodo reassured him, though he wasn't sure himself. At least, they got along very well now so he did not want to think about the troubles that might await them already.
"Legolas even shot me," Boromir said, wiping his face clean and throwing a small pebble into the water.
"Who is Legolas?" Frodo asked, frowning.
"You don't know the elf's name?" Boromir was truly baffled.
Frodo shrugged and sat down, just as his stomach began to grumble. Ever since he had been seperated from his friends, he had no longer the eating habits of a hobbit, which his belly did not like very much.
"I'll get us some mangos," Boromir mumbled, hoping that it would seal their friendship.
He stood up and went over to the edge of the forest, kicking the mango tree so that the fruit would fall on their own, since he could not pick them up with his wounded hands.
Seeing that the other struggled, Frodo went over to help, collecting the mangos in his cloak that he took off for that purpose. He smiled at Boromir as he did so, receiving a smile in return.
That was when they heard the sound.
A long, scraping sound that made them tremble. Boromir turned immediately and beheld a sight he would have never expected - an elven boat had landed on the rocky side of the beach where the mango forest was smallest so that it took the least time from there to reach the other side of the island. The place seemed to be chosen deliberately, since the two dark-haired elves who climbed out of the boat headed straight towards the forest and disappeared.
Not much later, another boat arrived.
Frodo smiled as he saw Galadriel step out next, followed by her elven husband whose name Frodo also did not know.
Even though the other seemed delighted, Boromir was still worried. What madness brought Lady Galadriel to this island while she surely still had to fight the flood in her own realm? Cautiously, Boromir put his left hand on Frodo's shoulder so that he couldn't run into a possible danger by believing the fair appearance too much.
Frodo still held the cloak with the mangos as he freed himself from Boromir's grip on his shoulder, which wasn't very strong given that he could move neither of the fingers. Before the man could come up with a better plan to hold Frodo back, the hobbit had already stormed off in the direction of the elves, hoping that he would leave this dreadful place at last and get to stay with the elves once more.
Galadriel smiled politely as Frodo stood before her, looking up with an inexplicable awe.
"Many things change hands very quickly, it is the way of the world. Yet now, as the ending of the worlds seems to close in upon us, many fights must be fought for those possessions we deem our own. You have stolen much, Frodo Baggins, and the time has come that not even the ring will protect you from your fate." She beckoned forward a third elf who carried a bow, pointing it at the hobbit.
"Those are my mangos," she said.
Frodo let go of the cloak and backed away, already reaching for the ring around his neck as the elf shot and missed his neck by mere inches, already piercing a hole through Frodo's collar.
He froze and closed his eyes, praying to the valar.
Then, the Horn of Gondor sounded, loud and clear.
The elf seemed unbothered, taking out another arrow and drawing the bow again. That was when an arrow hit Celeborn, who fell backwards, one last gurgling sound escaping his lips.
Galadriel stared down on her husband lying dead on the white sand.
"Even the immortality of elves is limited, but so is the the life on your dwarvish friend, you murderer," she calmly said, looking up at Legolas who stood still with a drawn bow.
Legolas turned his head to see the two elves who had stepped out of the first boat held Gimli up by his beard.
The Horn of Gondor fell silent and not long after Frodo heard a voice whispering into his ear. "We must run as long as she is distracted. Her wrath will be terrible once she sees we're gone."
Frodo turned his head and nodded.
"I have only protected the ringbearer, my lady Galadriel. Would it not suit your better to seek revenge on a lesser being than I am? My father will not want his only son and heir to be killed by one he admires so deeply. This Boromir does not have any important relatives, as far as I know," Legolas said and pointed at the man who had already reached the edge of the forest, Frodo stumbling right behind him.
"This seems indeed a fair solution to me, I thank you, Legolas of the Woodland Realm," Galadriel answered and smiled, as she gave a sign to let go the dwarvish prisoner.
"My father's name is still Thranduil," Legolas whispered, quite offended that nobody could remember that.
Still, he was glad to see his favourite dwarf safe and sound and the four still living elves trod off into the forest. With a smug grin, he embraced Gimli.
"I suggest we hide," Legolas said.
The advice was gladly accepted.
As Aragorn had heard the sound of the Horn of Gondor, his heart had seemed to burst in two. Quickly, he had followed the sound deep into the forest, his hand already at the hilt of his sword. Merry ran behind him, panting heavily as he tried to catch up with the other's long strides.
A soft rustling of the leaves made Aragorn stop, looking around carefully as Sam stormed towards him. He caught the hobbit by the shoulders. "What has happened?"
"Frodo... Master Frodo is... Getting attacked... by the elves!" Sam cried. He trembled from head to heels and could hardly get the words out after having run so fast as never before.
"Legolas attacked Frodo?" Aragorn asked, frowning. He put a hand on Sam's forehead to check if he had got a fever.
"No! Galadriel attacked Frodo! And I don't know why! I don't know why..." Sam shouted, sobbing.
Aragorn and Merry looked at each other and left Sam behind, who sank down on the ground, talking to himself in tears.
At the same time, Boromir and Frodo were on the run, stumbling against each other as they tried to keep up with the hastened pace of the elves closing in behind them. Then, Frodo stumbled and fell.
Boromir stopped, turning around only to be pierced by an arrow through his shoulder. He gasped for air and stumbled backwards, the trees dancing in circles around his head.
No cry left Frodo's lips as he watched in shock how his fellow tried to draw his sword only for his fingers to fail him.
As the second arrow pierced Boromir through the belly, he dropped to his knees.
The third arrow stabbed his already shattered heart.
Frodo fainted at this sight, sinking down next to Boromir like a corpse. He did not see the elves arriving at the scene, watching as Boromir slowly lifted his head to look them defiantly in the eye.
The armed elf raised his bow again, as a dagger flew through the air and pierced his neck.
Galadriel fled without turning, looking fair even as she went in haste and with blood on the hem of her dress. The two of her servants who lived still followed close behind.
Boromir could not see who had saved him from the fourth arrow, his eyes already darkening with the weight of the three arrows he carried and his back bending under the pressure of a life spent too upright and noble, failing him at last. He breathed heavily as he moved, the arrowheads slicing through his flesh as he turned to Frodo who lay with his eyes wide open, unseeing.
"Frodo?" he whispered, seeing the cold sweat upon his friend's face, wiping it off with his bandaged hands. At this, the other moved slightly, his eyes darting over to Boromir.
Visibly struggling to keep consciousness, Frodo sat up and drew a sharp breath as he saw Boromir's wounds and the arrows still sticking out of them. He reached out to remove the arrows, hoping that they had not harmed Boromir as much as he feared, which only caused the other to let out a stiffled scream.
"I'm sorry they've hurt you, but it will be alright, I promise. Aragorn will be here soon and he will help you. You mustn't give up," Frodo whispered, trying to hold back tears as he steadied his friend.
"It's over. I can feel it," Boromir answered with a pain-stricken voice, slowly sinking to the side so he would not fall over when he met his end.
Feeling in was true and yet not accepting it, Frodo helped him lean against a root.
"I'm sorry I tried to take the ring." Boromir's words were nearly inaudible and he shook with a short cough afterwards.
"I have forgiven you, my friend," Frodo answered, trying to smile so that the other would feel comforted at least in the end. Why did no help arrive?
"I wish... the others... had too." He coughed again, a red liquid dripping out of his mouth. Then, he fell silent and his head sank backwards, the eyes staring up.
"They have. Oh, Boromir, they have forgiven you." Even though he knew these words had come to late, Frodo sent a prayer to the valar that there was a way Boromir had still heard him, had at least passed with the certainty of still having those he cared about by his side, even if danger had pulled them away from each other.
Then, Frodo's head sank down on Boromir's unwounded shoulder and he wept bitterly as he held the lifeless body in his arms.
That was how Aragorn found them at last, having returned from banishing the elves from the island, and having come to late.