A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK
Night of October 1, 3019

Frodo portayed by Hobbitness
Lilandra protrayed by FreeFall
Frodo's Servants, Finduilas, Rian, Anborn and Targon portrayed by Eowyn

Frodo: *Frodo enters the women's room, his eyes still dazed. He blinks, trying to adjust his eyes to the light or lack of it*
Frodo's Servants: *all of the women, followed by the two boys, greet frodo with joy, some kneeling before him, hugging and kissing him*
Frodo: *Frodo hugs them back but gently urges them not to hug him so hard...at least not the left side.*
Frodo: *He weeps with joy to see them all again*
Lilandra: *she looks up...hating so much that yet another night they must remain..yet another night she must be parted from her love*
Lilandra: *she greets Frodo with a nod but stays on her bed with her sullen thoughts*
Frodo: *nods back to her sympathetically*
Finduilas: *finduilas wails* it has been madness! first the twins are taken... then they are brought back... and then arnasa was taken... and the twins taken once again!
Finduilas: *she continues* thank the valar we are leaving in the morn!
Frodo: *He leans against Finduilas who kneels next to him. He is exhausted and still shaking* Aye.....madness indeed. *shudders, remembering the sounds of the orgy*
Finduilas: come, let us sit down *finduilas rises, and gestures towards a nearby couch*
Frodo: *Frodo gratefully follows her to the couch and climbs onto it*
Frodo: *He settles wearily in the corner of the couch, but wonderfully happy to see them all again*
Frodo's Servants: *rian rises and walks over, sitting down beside frodo. the boys follow suit*
Frodo: Tell me how you have all been! Did they bother you at all? Have you been left in peace, except for the twins and Arnasa?
Finduilas: aye, we have been left in peace, thankfully... but what happened to arnasa?
Frodo: *his face darkens* Arnasa danced for the Nine... a horrible battle dance of blood and war cries
Finduilas: *finduilas pales* a elbereth!
Frodo: She danced with the Nazgul Khamul's lady and they cut themselves before the Nine...*he shivers* I couldn't watch it!
Frodo: She danced until she was exhausted, so now they have taken her away to recover.
Frodo: And the Morgul Lord said...he will keep her for a time
Finduilas: *finduilas bids rian to take the boys into the other room so they will not hear this... rian quickly does what she says*
Frodo: *Frodo glances apologetically to Finduilas...in his turmoil he had forgotten to spare the boys this*
Finduilas: that is horrible, lord! may the valar protect them both!
Frodo: Aye...Elfhild and Elffled have been put in a separate room, as far as I can tell.
Frodo: The men spent some time in the dungeon earlier, I heard from an orc....but they were freed
Finduilas: this place is dark and evil... i pray that doom shall not befall them!
Frodo: *glances sympathetically to Lilandra who bristles when he tells that her husband was put in the dungeon*
Finduilas: well, those are good tidings, the news that they were freed!
Frodo: Yes! I am so relieved *smiles*
Frodo's Servants: but i fear for the safety of the twins...and arnasa, though she worships the evil ones.
Frodo: Arnasa.....*he coughs nervously*
Frodo: I am afraid she will dance herself to death but may the Valar protect her from that
Frodo: I think the Nine......value her too much to let that happen....oh, it was horrible! Such disgusting.....*shudders*
Finduilas: *finduilas sighs heavily, her mind reeling with the horrors that frodo has told her... stories of wild revelry, of dark and bloody dances and heathen ceremonies*
Frodo: They chanted, and I could understand them....they chanted, "Blood, war, death!"
Frodo: *He pauses, trembling, trying to slow his breathing*
Finduilas: *aghast, she cries* that is horrible! was the girl badly hurt?
Frodo: I hope not...I did not watch it.
Frodo: Remember that time in Nurn, when she danced outside and cut herself?
Finduilas: *finduilas nods slowly*
Frodo: I assume it was the same sort of dance
Frodo: *sighs deeply*
Finduilas: she said that was her dance of suplication... to... to... the dark lord.
Frodo: *nods with a knowing look*
Frodo: *rubs his right hand over his face* May the Valar deliver us from this evil place!! *he prays earnestly*
Finduilas: she grieved for weeks when she was saved from dying on the... *shudders* altar.
Frodo: *whispers* aye....let us not even allow ourselves to fear that...for we can do nothing
Finduilas: when she discovered we were going to minas morgul, she rejoiced and her spirits changed.
Frodo: *nods* She is truly deceived. I pity her
Frodo: Even in her joy to spend herself for the Nine, I pitied her for it was a false joy
Finduilas: the first enemy always favored men, i fear, for their hearts are easily persuaded, and the evil one in the tower follows his master's example.
Frodo: *smiles sadly, with a half hidden bitterness...he is reminded again of the Quest...he feels like a different being altogether now*
Finduilas: twas men, easterlings in fact, that betrayed the elves and men in the fifth battle in the elder days, by changing their alligence in the middle of the battle and fighting for the forces of angband.
Frodo: *Now hobbits have that guilt, Frodo thinks. I am the traitor now...though unwilling*
Frodo: *nods to Finduilas*
Frodo: Well....*tries to raise Finduilas' spirits and his own* I think I have brought quite enough gloom into this room.
Finduilas: *she smiles sadly* it is indeed a gloomy time, lord, and the happens seem to be most always ill.
Frodo: Why don't we call your boys back in...I will not scare them this time! *smiles at her*
Finduilas: *she forces herself to laugh, then stands up* very well, lord. they will be glad to see you again!
Finduilas: *she goes to the other room and summons rian and the boys*
Frodo: *tries to force the dark cloud from his mind as he waits for the others to return...he does not want to make this any worse for them*
Frodo: *The effort it takes to master his own despair makes him remember Sam's incredible ability to do just that and fills him with renewed admiraion and longing for Sam*
Frodo's Servants: *soon, finduilas, rian and the two boys return to the room, happy to see frodo once again*
Frodo: *Frodo smiles at them* I did not mean to send you out. Come back up here and sit...I only have an hour with you
Frodo's Servants: *finduilas and rian sit down upon the couch, and the two boys crawl up, bounding with joy*
Frodo: Now, Anborn and Targon! How are my boys?
Frodo: *He tries to imitate Bilbo whenever he is with the boys*
Anborn and Targon: *anborn, the eldest, replies..* it was scary at first... but then things have been kind of slow..
Frodo: *smiles genuinely* Yes, quite boring, I would say, wouldn't you? But I am very glad to see you back with your mother
Anborn and Targon: *anborn's face wrinkles up* aye... we couldn't go outside to play, and had to stay in all the time. this place is scary too! but now you're here! *both children are enthusisatic*
Frodo: Yes! I am very glad to see you at all *his smile becomes a little wistful...he remembers the vision of the tapestry and the horrible nightmare he is sure was sent to him and now, this is such a welcome relief!*
Anborn and Targon: *the eldest says* we could play a game... we hide and you find us! but all the hiding places in here are old. *he frowns*
Frodo: Ah, that is too bad! But, I do not know the hiding places in here!
Frodo: They are not old for me *he manages a grin and winks at Finduilas and Rian*
Anborn and Targon: *he brightens* would you like to play? or maybe tell us a story?
Frodo: *A story....he searches his mind but it is still filled with the death chants of the Nazgul*
Frodo: I can't think of a story right now. Perhaps you can find the best hiding places in here
Frodo: Go and hide, and I will talk to your mother and Rian---I have not asked her how she has been doing yet *smiles to Rian*---then I will find you!
Anborn and Targon: *anborn chirps* all right! we will go hide then you come find us! *the boys slip off the couch and scurry off*
Frodo: Tell me when they've hidden *he grins to Finduilas and Rian*
Frodo's Servants: *the two women smile at frodo... much giggling is heard from elsewhere in the spacious chambers*
Frodo: Now...how do you fare, Rian? *he says over the giggling*
Frodo: *He has never forgotten the time she picked flowers for him and how it touched his heart*
Rian: *rian smiles sadly at frodo* i fare well, my lord... though this place is fearsome and troubles all our spirits greatly.
Frodo: *nods understandingly*
Rian: i am so glad *she puts emphasis upon the words* we leave in the morning!
Frodo: The Valar be praised for that!
Frodo: Perhaps we shall have a new home in the new city...and have peaceful times as we did in Nurn, for a while
Frodo: I know it was not peaceful all the time....well, far from peaceful...but it was much better than here
Rian: *she nods* i hope so... though it seems a fell hand controls our fates and instigates what befalls us.
Frodo: *His smile fades, and he nods again, but does not want to elaborate on that when the boys are within earshot*
Finduilas: *finduilas says to frodo in confidental terms* i think the boys have hidden themselves by now. *smiles*
Frodo: *his spirits begin to rise again* Oh, have they? *he looks around the room and sees no sign of the boys*
Anborn and Targon: *in the connecting room to the left, after frantically scurrying to different potential hiding places, then rejecting them, anborn hides under the bed, his little brother following him. but frodo does not know where they hide yet...*
Frodo: *Frodo slides off the couch and looks behind it*
Frodo: No, not there! *he calls as though informing Finduilas and Rian...really he does it for the boys' benefit*
Frodo's Servants: *finduilas and rian look to each other, amused*
Frodo: *Frodo looks behind chairs and couches, even in such obvious places as under tables, reporting back to Finduilas and Rian loudly about each place and listening for giggles that might reveal the boys' whereabouts*
Frodo's Servants: *frodo hears a faint giggle from under the bed, which is quickly shushed*
Frodo: *Frodo's face lights up, and he shares knowing smiles with Finduilas and Rian*
Frodo: *He looks around more, though, to prolong the boys' enjoyment. He goes into the other room and looks behind all the furniture and tapestries in there*
Frodo: *He goes to the bed and searches under all the pillows and covers, pretending to be very frustrated*
Frodo: *he calls back to the women* I can't think WHERE they could be!
Anborn and Targon: *the suspense is maddening... anborn crawls over and raises the covers hanging over the bed to the floor ever so slightly and peers out*
Frodo: *Anborn is right behind him and he knows it...but pretends not to, yet*
Anborn and Targon: *quickly he darts back further under the bed*
Frodo: Hmmm.........wait...........
Frodo: *drags out the pause as he bends down...the boys can see his shadow through the bedskirt*
Frodo: Could they be......under HERE? *lifts the bedskirt and peers under the bed*
Anborn and Targon: *they gasp when they see frodo, then giggle* you found us! *they scramble out from under the bed* now you hide!
Frodo: *At that moment a knock is heard on the door*
Frodo: *Two orcs walk in and say* Yer time's up! We're ere to take the Great Shakh back to is room!
Frodo's Servants: *the boys go to finduilas, who is standing beside rian. they bid frodo farewell, sad that he is leaving so soon*
Frodo's Servants: *but at least, finduilas and rian think, they will be leaving this place in the morning... but will where they are going be any better? indeed, they look at an uncertain future*
Frodo: *Frodo hugs the boys and bids farewell to Finduilas and Rian, trying to mask his dread at going back to his room, where dark enchantments work on him against his will*
Frodo: *But the game of hide and seek has greatly eased his mind. He will try to think of only that tonight, he thinks with a smile*
Frodo: *When he is locked back in his own room, his thoughts are of the Shire and Bilbo, and Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and the games they used to play long, long ago.*
Frodo: *A dream of his own mind comes to him in the early hours of this night...a good dream of the Shire when all was well*

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