Chapter 20: Treachery at the Forbidden Pool, Gollum's regression

Sometime later at night in Henneth Annûn, all was silent…

Captain Faramir of Gondor sat alone on a rock… holding within his hands… Boromir’s cloven ox horn. The majority of his men were asleep, including the captives, Frodo, Sam, Yahiko and Kaoru. He became very deep in thought, knowing that he has met someone who actually knew his brother, Boromir. He was indeed grieved over his brother's death at the hands of the Uruk-Hai…

Faramir thought back to where he was that day, at the Anduin River… when he had just discovered his brother's horn, broken in half. Filled with fear… the young captain slowly stepped out into the river… seeing a boat coming in his direction, with nobody in it apparently…

Faramir then looked inside the boat…

And saw his brother, laid out in a state of honor with his weapons and shield. Faramir instantly became shocked and sad, as he just stood there and watched the boat pass him by, disbelieving the fact that he had just discovered his brother dead and laid to rest upon the Anduin River…

Faramir began shedding tears… gripping his hands tighter upon the broken horn. Now with Boromir gone from this world… it was up to him to save and bring peace to Gondor once more. The last time he and Boromir saw each other… was when Boromir had been selected to head out to Rivendell for Elrond's council, though he was reluctant to do so. Faramir opted to go, but his father, Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, wouldn't have it, for he always favored Boromir over Faramir to bring justice to Gondor. And even now… Faramir wished that he were the one selected to go to Rivendell.

As Faramir continued to dwell in his grief…

"Captain Faramir," one of his men called out to him.

Faramir turned his head as his man came toward him… and whispered something in his ear…

Faramir and a few of his men went to a cavern storeroom, where Kaoru, Frodo, Sam, and Yahiko were sleeping. The area was scattered about with crates and barrels around the room. He stood before Frodo as he awoke.

Faramir said to the Hobbit, "you must come with me, now."

Just then… Kaoru awoke looking up at Faramir, "eh, what's going on?" She asked.

"I have to borrow the halfling for a moment," said Faramir, "you stay here my lady."

"Wait just a minute," Kaoru said a little intensely, "if you're taking Frodo somewhere, I want to know where. Besides what concerns Frodo concerns the rest of us as well."

Faramir looked at Kaoru with an unsettling, yet untrusting expression, still unwilling to let her come along.

"Let her come along, Faramir," said Frodo, "…I wish her to come with me."

"…Very well then," Faramir reluctantly agreed to Kaoru's company, "but the other two will remain here, understood?"

Frodo and Kaoru nodded, accepting Faramir's terms.

"Damrod," Faramir called to one of his men, "stand guard here, if they should ever wake up to inquire about their companion's whereabouts."

"Yes, Captain," answered Damrod. Faramir then gestured to Kaoru and Frodo to come along.

Frodo, Kaoru, and Faramir went outside the cave and came onto a ledge. The moon shone full, as it painted everything silver. Faramir was up front while Frodo and Kaoru were way behind him. The captain was at the edge of the ledge, looking down towards a pool at the bottom of the waterfall, for anything suspicious. Once he did…

Faramir turned back to Kaoru and Frodo as he pointed down below, "down there." He said beckoning the pair…

Frodo and Kaoru came up to Faramir… and looked down towards the pool… shocked and surprised…

To see the creature, Sméagol-Gollum, sitting on a rock at the pool’s edge… just before he dove into the silver water…

"To enter the Forbidden Pool bears the penalty of death." Faramir told them quietly, as they gasped inwardly at Faramir.

The young captain then turned his head upwards, with Frodo and Kaoru following his gaze…

And archers silently appeared out of the bushes, with arrows notched on their bows, ready to shoot Smeagol. Faramir then turned downwards…

Where more archers appeared, from their hiding places, with bows at the ready, to shoot the creature that was violating their territory…

"…They wait for my command," Faramir said, watching his captives closely, as they were dismayed to know that their guide will be shot on sight, "…shall I shoot?"

Frodo and Kaoru looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, feeling that they have to do something fast. They both watched Smeagol play by the pool in horrified indecision. Smeagol climbed out of the water onto the rock with a fish, as he sang:

As Smeagol enjoyed his song…

Faramir lifted his arm to give the signal to shoot the creature while glancing at Kaoru and Frodo with a raised brow. Their dismay increased greatly, as the archers tightened their bows…

Smeagol continued singing, whacking the fish hard upon the rock a few times…

Frodo looked wide eyed at Faramir, then back down at the pool where Smeagol was happily eating the fish. Kaoru could only look at Frodo, as he was the only one who could tell Faramir to stop. Kaoru knew that Frodo was reluctant to answer Faramir about him in the first place, which was probably the reason that he only wanted Frodo to come… because they had found Smeagol. If Kaoru and Frodo were to let Faramir shoot, it would simply be murder. But if they were to beg for Smeagol to be let go… their request would only be ignored…

The fish almost wriggled out of Smeagol's grasp, but regained his hold… and whacked it on the rock many times more, even harder, unaware of the danger that he was in…

Faramir was ready to give the signal for firing…

"Wait!" Frodo spoke up and Faramir stopped, as the Hobbit and Kaoru knew that they had to tell Faramir about the creature, "…this creature is bound to me… and I to him."

With a perplexed expression, Faramir was both surprised and not surprised to hear that Frodo knew about the creature and didn't tell him before.

"…He is our guide," Frodo answered further, with Kaoru nodding in agreement and pleaded with the captain, "please… let us go down to him."

"…I will only let you go down, Frodo," said Faramir, only letting Frodo go down, "…I wish for Kaoru to remain here."

Kaoru then turned to Frodo and said, "its alright Frodo. It was your life that he saved. So you should be the one to return the favor."

Frodo thought a moment… then nodded to what Kaoru said. It should be him to save Smeagol since he saved him from drowning in the Dead Marshes. And with that… Frodo proceeded down towards the pool. However, Faramir was still suspicious.

Smeagol continued tearing into the raw fish with a very hearty appetite, happily enjoying his meal. Frodo pushed his way through the bushes behind Smeagol as his heart sank, thinking that it would probably be impossible for the creature to ever understand or believe… that Frodo had saved his life in the only way he could…

"Smeagol," he called quietly, but Smeagol could barely hear Frodo at first, spiting out a piece of the fish in his hands.

"Master is here," Frodo spoke up a little… and Smeagol turned around, looking behind him in surprise.

"…Come, Sméagol," Frodo continued to call out, beckoning his guide.

Smeagol looked at Frodo hesitantly, as Kaoru, from up above could only watch, hoping that Smeagol will follow Frodo out of the pool and not get killed by the rangers.

"…Trust master… come," Frodo said, slowly backing up the way he had come and gesturing for Smeagol to follow.

Smeagol paused for a moment… before asking in bewildered confusion, "…we must, go now?"

"Yes, Smeagol, its time for us to go now," answered Frodo.

But then… Smeagol inquired, "…where is the mistress--?"

"The mistress is fine, everyone's just fine, Smeagol," Frodo quickly interrupted, answering further, then insisted, "but you must trust master. Follow me, come on… come."

Smeagol then put the fish in his mouth… and hesitantly started to follow Frodo with a smile…

'Yes, that's right, Smeagol,' thought a relieved Kaoru, looking from above, '…follow your master.'

"…Come, Smeagol," Frodo encouraged him, "nice Sméagol. That’s it… come on…"

Smeagol happily continued to follow Frodo… because had a master that he could trust. Then the creature's eyes widened as he looked wildly from left to right…

And one of Faramir's men took him by surprise as he grabbed Smeagol by the neck and held him up, ambushing him from the bushes. The rest of the rangers came out of the bushes, aiming their bows at the creature.

"Don’t hurt him!" Frodo cried anxiously to the soldiers, very shocked to see the rangers ambushing Sméagol…

As was Kaoru, as she yelled at Faramir, "what are you doing, Faramir! You have to let him go!"

Then… one of the rangers came up to Kaoru, holding a knife to her back.

"Do not move my lady," the ranger warned Kaoru. Kaoru could only look helplessly at the rangers who ended up wrestling down Sméagol mercilessly, as the creature wailed loudly.

"Sméagol don’t struggle!" Frodo screamed wildly to the still struggling Sméagol, "Sméagol listen to me!"

"Master!" Smeagol wailed reproachfully at Frodo, feeling betrayed by the one Hobbit he truly loved… and trusted.

Then the rangers covered Smeagol's face with a black cloth, as he was carried away, whimpering and screeching miserably. Frodo stared after them with a stricken expression and looked up at Faramir as he and Kaoru turned away from the pool, taking Sméagol prisoner.

In another part of the cave, Faramir's rangers wrestled with Smeagol even more, punching and slapping him fiercely, being tortured mercilessly like he was with the Orcs at Barad-dûr.

"Ahhhhhhh! No! Nooooo!!!!" Sméagol wailed, begging the rangers to stop beating him senseless.

"That's enough!" Faramir called to the men.

And they threw him down onto the rocky ground. Crying in misery, Sméagol crawled and scrambled into a corner and curled up into ball, under a bulge in the rock wall, with his back, to the men, whimpering in fear of them.

Faramir went up to Smeagol and asked, "where are you leading them?"

Smeagol snuggled closer to the rock wall, his arms wrapped around himself, his hands over his shoulders and on his back and wouldn't answer him, weeping and sobbing quietly.

"Answer me!" Faramir demanded, growing impatient.

Suddenly…

"Sméa… gol?" he asked himself, cooing and stroking his hand smoothly on his back…

But apparently, it wasn't Smeagol talking… it was Gollum… now trying to take control…

"…Why does it cry, Sméagol?"

"…Cruel men hurts us," Sméagol answered, sobbing and deeply hurt, "master tricksed us."

"Of course he did," Gollum said reasonably.

Sméagol sobbed again…

"I told you he was tricksy," Gollum confirmed about Frodo as Sméagol sobbed even more, "I told you he was false."

"But," Sméagol said suddenly, in realization, "…the mistress still likes Sméagol. She wouldn't hurt--"

"Where was the mistress?" Gollum interrupted, cooing even more, "…master was so keen to answer sooo quickly when you asked about where she was, wasn't he? The mistress wasn’t there because she wanted master to hurt you…"

A pause…

"She's tricksy too, just like master," ended Gollum.

"Master and mistress are our friends ...our friends," said Sméagol in a low, uncertain voice…

As Faramir watched continuously in horrified fascination at the conversation the creature was having with itself. Besides being hideous, Faramir saw for himself… the growing madness of the creature… a madness that he had never witnessed before in his life…

"Master betrayed ussss!" Gollum hissed harshly, "…they all betrayed us!"

"Noooo, not it’s business!" whimpered Sméagol even more, trying to defend Frodo and Kaoru, "leave us alone!"

But…

"Filthy little hobbitsesss!" Gollum grated roughly, while pounding his fist, "filthy little travelersessss! They stole it from usss! They all stole it from ussss!"

"No… no!" Smeagol groaned miserably, with his hands over his head.

Despite what Faramir had witnessed with the seemingly deranged creature… he asked in great curiosity, "…what did they steal…?"

Then… Gollum turned to face Faramir with a wild, savage expression. It seemed that Gollum took over once again…

"…Myyy… PRECIOUS!" Gollum answered, growling ferociously, "aaaaaarrrrgggggghhhh!"

Back in the storeroom of the cavern, where the travelers were being held… Sam, Yahiko, and Kaoru were huddled before Frodo, sitting on their knees, discussing what to do next, since their guide was taken prisoner…

"We have to get out of here." Sam said urgently.

"Yeah, you said it, Sam," agreed Yahiko, "we can't stay here any longer, that's for sure."

"Even if we wanted to Yahiko," interjected Kaoru, "how are we going to do it? This cave's practically crawling with Faramir's men. I doubt we'll all be able to escape."

Sam and Yahiko realized that what Kaoru said is true. And then…

Sam had a suggestion as he looked at Frodo. "I know… you can go, Mr. Frodo," he said to Frodo, "go, now!"

Sam crawled up towards Frodo and added, "you can do it. Use the ring, Mr. Frodo. Just this once… put it on… disappear."

But despite the suggestion, Frodo was hesitant.

"…Sam's right Frodo," said Yahiko, agreeing with Sam, "…you've got to use the ring to disappear… and get away."

"…I can't," returned Frodo, with despair in his voice, "…you were right, Sam… all of you were right. You tried to tell me, but…"

Everyone felt sorry for Frodo, knowing that he finally realized that the ring has been taking ahold of him all this time…

"…I’m sorry," Frodo gave his sincerest apologies to his companions… companions who have been trying to help him on this harsh journey.

"The ring’s taking me… if I put it on, he’ll find me," ended a horror-thickened Frodo, cringing within his own fear, "…he’ll see."

"Mr. Frodo," Sam said in concern.

"Frodo," Kaoru cut in, "…I know how you feel. We all do. All of us have our times of despair and horror… especially when we're in a situation like this."

Frodo looked at Kaoru in confused gratitude. "Miss Kaoru, " Frodo sadly spoke.

"But still," Kaoru went on, sternly, "Sam and Yahiko are right. We have to get out of this place somehow."

"I doubt that will be possible now, my lady Kaoru," Faramir came in.

The travelers gasped and stood up as Faramir drew his sword…

"So," said Faramir with a tight voice as he began to approach Frodo, "…this is the answer to all the riddles."

Sam stood helplessly, afraid to move to Frodo's defense. Yahiko however, wanted to intervene… but Kaoru held him back, laying her hand on his shoulder, not wanting him to involve himself rashly.

"Here in the wild I have you," Faramir added, advancing closer to Frodo, as the Hobbit backed away from him, towards the wall, "two halflings, a woman, a young boy… and a host of men at my call…"

Frodo flattened himself against the wall, with both arms spread at his sides, his hands gripping the rock…

"…The ring of power within my grasp," Faramir continued quietly, almost to himself… as he dipped the tip of his sword into the front of Frodo’s shirt… and drew out the ring, hooking the chain from Frodo's neck, "…a chance for Faramir, captain of Gondor… to show his quality."

Everyone continued to stand helpless at Faramir's discovery of the ring of power. Suddenly… the ring whispered… and Frodo began to fall into a trance…

Frodo’s look of fear slowly changed… as his eyes rolled up, showing the whites within them…

But then… Kaoru started to act strangely… as her eyes began to blink slowly… and her faint groans emitting from her breath, with the ring's power tempting her once more…

Yahiko looked up at Kaoru worriedly, wondering what was going on with her, as he was still unaware of her temptation for the ring. Kaoru had always felt a sense to have the ring… ever since she saw Frodo caressing it with his hands too many times…

Faramir was tempted as well, knowing he has an object of power within his reach…

Frodo's eyes met Faramir's again, but this time… Frodo looked feral…

And…

"…nnnNOOOOOOOOOO!" snarled Frodo, almost roaring, as he grabbed the ring in his hand, and pushed the sword away aggressively, running away from Faramir.

As he did… Kaoru came out of her trance as well. Frodo retreated into a corner, where he wept quietly. Kaoru then went up to Frodo… and embraced him lovingly, after being threatened by Faramir.

"Don't worry, Frodo… I won't let him near you," Kaoru assured him, then turned sharply to Faramir, "Faramir's acting more like Boromir every time. He's definitely his brother alright."

Wondering why Kaoru could say that about Boromir, Faramir starts to go over to Frodo and Kaoru for the answer, but Yahiko and Sam obstructed him.

"Stop it!" Sam cried angrily, "leave him alone!"

"Yeah, back off, you creep!" Yahiko cried even more angrily, "I don't care if you're Boromir's brother or not."

"Don’t you understand? He’s got to destroy it," Sam said to Faramir fervently, "that’s where we’re going, into Mordor… to the mountain of fire."

"And to answer your question about me and Kaoru," interjected Yahiko, "you were right on one thing… we're one of those rumored people from the other world that's so talked about here. Sauron is also threatening our world… and we intend to see the ring destroyed so that we can all be saved.

"…I may be just a kid who doesn't understand everything. But I do know that if you're thinking about trying to control the ring's power… you can just forget about it, because the ring's nothing but trouble. It'll only obey its creator," finished Yahiko.

Just then, one of Faramir's men came in with news. "Osgiliath is under attack," he said urgently, "they call for reinforcements."

"…Captain Faramir," interjected Kaoru, saying her peace, "…I can understand what you're all going through with what's happening in your land. All of you are expecting a miracle of some kind. But believe us when we tell you… the ring is not that miracle that you so desperately want!"

"Miss Kaoru's right, sir," Sam agreed, as Faramir glanced at him, "please… its such a burden to us all. Will you not help us?"

Faramir contemplated all of his prisoners' words and warnings about the ring, as he stood like a statue, indecisive about what to do…

"Captain?" asked the man.

Moments passed before… Faramir replied, "…prepare to leave."

The man went away to tell the others to pass the order to head for Osgiliath for assistance. Sam, Kaoru, and Yahiko waited as Faramir turned back to them for his answer…

"…The ring will go to Gondor," Faramir declared to the travelers.

Sam and Kaoru gasped fearfully as Yahiko growled, "…grr! Haven't you heard anything we've said?!"

"I have," Faramir replied contemptuously to Yahiko, "…you said so yourself that you're only a boy who doesn't understand everything. So how do you know what we can or can't control?"

Yahiko went speechless as Sam was filled with despair, fearing the worst…