Narrator pov

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The riders are next seen traveling towards Edoras, and Éowyn stands in front of the Golden Hall. A large crowd is then seen in the Hall. Éowyn bows to Théoden as she gives him a cup. "Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" Theoden says, and the crowd answers with "hail!". You're standing with Legolas and Gimli along with Eomer, who gives a mug to Legolas. you grimace as the strong smell of alcohol hits you. "No pauses. No spills." more starts, and then Gimli chimes in. "And no regurgitation." Legolas looks a little lost, and you smile softly. "So it's a drinking game?"  he asks, and the Men "ai!" and raise their mugs. you sigh and drink of yours, no alcohol tho. "Last one standing wins." Gimli says, and some men say, "What'll we drink to? Let's drink to victory! To victory!" and they start.

Gimli gulps down his mug as Legolas carefully starts to drink. You see in the corner of your eye Éowyn approaches Aragorn with a cup. your ears catch something to see, but you don't understand. "Westu Aragorn hál." he gives it to Aragorn, who drinks some. He walks off with a nod. You follow him. You find him by Gandalf watching Merry and Pippin dancing and singing on a table. you chuckle and protect them too. "Oh, you can search far and wide,

You can drink the whole town dry,

But you'll never find a beer so brown,

As the one, we revel in our hometown.

You can drink your fancy ales,

You can drink them by the bottle,

But the only brew for the brave and true," they sing. Pippin stops dancing as he sees that Gandalf is looking at him. You catch the glance, and your eyes flash. you know what their glances mean. "Pippin!" merry calls, and they start drinking as fast as they can after the song ends. Gandalf laughs and claps; you and Aragorn join him. "No news of Frodo?" Aragorn asks. your eyes flash in sympathy as you see Gandalf's face falls. "No word. Nothing," he mutters. you lay a hand on his shoulder and say kindly. " We have time. Every day, Frodo moves closer to Mordor." Gandalf looks at you and says, " Do we know that?" you glance at Aragorn, and he gets your point and says, "What does your heart tell you?" Gandalf looks away from you two for a moment and says quietly, but you both hear it.

"That Frodo is alive. Yes. Yes, he's alive."

The Hobbits are sleeping. Gollum twitches and talks as if having a bad dream. "Too risky. Too risky. Thieves. They stole it from us. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them both!" he whispers, then jolts up and scolds himself. "Shh! Quiet. Mustn't wake them. Mustn't ruin it now." he says. But they know. They know. They suspect us!"

"What's it saying, my precious, my love? Is Sméagol losing his nerve?"

" No. Not. Never. Sméagol hates nasty Hobbitses. Sméagol wants to see them...dead."

"And we will. Sméagol did it once; he can do it again."

" It's ours. Ours!" Gollum sneers. "We must get the precious. We must get it back."

"Patience. Patience, my love. First, we must lead them to her."

"We lead them to the winding stairs."

" Yes. The stairs. And then?"

" Up, up, up, up, up the stairs we go, until we come to...the tunnel."

"  And when they go in, there's no coming out. She's always hungry. She always needs...to feed. She must eat. All she gets is filthy Orcses."

"And they don't taste very nice, do they, precious?"

" No. Not very nice at all, my love. She hungers for sweeter meats, Hobbit-meat." Sam begins to awaken. "And when she throws away the bones and empty clothes, then we will find it."

" And take it for me!"

"For us."

"Y-yes, we meant "for us." *Gollum, Gollum*

"The precious will be ours once the Hobbitses are dead."

He picks up a rock and drops it in the water. The ripples fade to show Sammy standing over his shoulder. "You treacherous little toad!" he yells and tackles Sméagol and then struggles with him as Frodo rushes over. "No! No! Master!" Gollum calls. "No, Sam! Leave him alone!" Frodo calls. he pullsSamm back from Sméagol. "I heard it from his mouth. He means to murder us!"Samm says, angry. "Never! Sméagol wouldn't hurt a fly!" Smeagol denies, and he touches a small cut on his head, then sees blood on his hand, he screams. "Argh! He's a horrid, fat Hobbit who hates Sméagol and who makes up nasty lies!"

"You miserable little maggot! I'll stove your head in!" Sam tries to attack Sméagol, who hides behind a tree. "Sam!"

"Call me a liar? You're a liar!"Samm yells. " You scare him off; we're lost!" Frodo answers. "I don't care! I can't do it, Mister Frodo; I won't wait around for him to kill us." Sam says, starting to calm down. "I'm not sending him away!" Frodo answers. "You don't see it, do you? He's a villain!"Samm hisses. "We can't do this by ourselves, Samm. Not without a guide. I need you on my side." Frodo says calmly. sam sighs and says, " I'm on your side, Mr. Frodo." Frodo smiles and then starts to go towards Smeagol. "I know, Samm, I know. Trust me. Come, Sméagol." he holds out his hand, and Sméagol takes it. Gollum givesSamm an evil grin.

Edoras, at night. Aragorn walks out of the room where he was sleeping with his pipe. Pippin moves in his bed as if something is bothering him. Aragorn walks into a room where Éowyn is sleeping by a dimmed-down fire. He pokes the fire with a stick and fixes the blanket on Éowyn. in eh shadows stands you, watching them gently. "What time is it?" Eowyn asks, and Aragorn answers softly. "Not yet, dawn." As Aragorn begins to walk away, Éowyn grabs his hand. "I dreamed I saw a great wave, climbing over green lands and above the hills. I stood upon the brink. It was utterly dark in the abyss before my feet. A light shone behind me, but I could not turn. I could only stand there, waiting." she says. Your eyes soften.

The worst, you know, can be a nightmare. you've had them, but there are few. " Night changes many thoughts: sleep, Éowyn. Sleep...while you can." Aragorn says, and Aragorn walks away, with you following him. You walk outside, Aragorn not yet notified of your presence. You see Legolas, and you swiftly walk over to him, startling Aragon. "what trobles you, Mellon?" you ask. the elf answers grimly. "The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the east. A sleepless malice." he then turns to you as Aragorn comes up beside you. you see it in his eyes, and yours darken. "The Eye of the Enemy is moving." you snarl.

back with Pippin and the others, the young Took cannot sleep and gets up, walking toward Gandalf. "What you doing?" Merry hisses, and Pippin, shocked, turns back to look at him. he then turns and looks at Gandalf, who is sleeping with his eyes open. He gets another shock. He waves his hand in front of Gandalf.

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Cliff hanger, I believe

-Saph