Aragorn and I took different paths. And I was pretty sure that I was heading in the right direction, because I could hear two voices. But my heart sank when I heard Boromir shouting at Frodo for no apparent reason. I came into the clearing where the duo were. Boromir looked really angry, and he looked ready to attack Frodo at any moment.

If Boromir tried to hurt him in any sort of way, I'd be so mad at him. I'd probably never be able to forgive him either. To my horror, Boromir pounced upon the poor, innocent Hobbit unexpectedly, causing me to shriek in fear in surprise. I found my courage and hurried forward.

"Don't hurt him!" I pleaded desperately. I took out my sword and sprinted forward. "Please don't hurt him!"

I tried to stop Boromir from harassing the poor Hobbit by trying to pull him away from him. But unfortunately for me, I got knocked to the side. I could feel my head throbbing where Boromir had slapped me out of the way. During the time I was trying to recover from the slap, Frodo had, unfortunately, been attacked by Boromir, causing the Hobbit to put on the Ring. Finally, I managed to stand up, terrified. My face went pale.

"Frodo, I'm sorry!" Boromir pleaded, but it was no use. Frodo was gone. And he was gone for good.

"You asshole!" I growled angrily. "Now look at what you've done! You scared him away, you idiot!"

"Rivka, I'm sorry! Please! Frodo was right. It wasn't me. I wasn't acting like myself."

But I wasn't hearing any of it. I managed to flee, running straight into Aragorn as I did so. He noticed me and grabbed my arm. I gasped, staring at him with big eyes.

"Rivka! Did you find Frodo?"

My face went pale when I remembered that Boromir had attacked Frodo just a few moments ago. And now, thanks to Boromir, Frodo had put on the Ring and went to God knows where. Unexpectedly, I burst into tears.

"Yes, but Boromir scared him away. He put on the Ring and disappeared. I don't know where he is now, Aragorn. I'm scared. And I broke my promise."

Aragorn frowned, looking confused.

"Promise? You keep talking about these promises. What promise did you tell yourself, Rivka?"

"The promise I made to myself before Gandalf and the Lady Galadriel spoke of."

"And what was that?"

I took in a deep breath, trying to not let my tears overflow.

"'Don't you lose him, Rivka Rosewood. And I don't want to'."

Aragorn pulled me into a hug and I sobbed into his neck.

"Frodo is strong, Rivka. We must not lose hope."

"But I'm scared for him, Aragorn," I whimpered, clutching tighter to his cloak. "I don't want to lose him. I don't want him to see him get hurt. I don't want anyone to kill him, either."

"Would you like to go find him together? Two is better than one," Aragorn suggested in a kind voice.

I managed to nod in reply.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think that would be great."

We looked around for Frodo until we found him on the floor, looking stunned.

"Frodo?" said Aragorn.

"It has taken Boromir," Frodo declared, his face pale.

"Where is the Ring?" Aragorn demanded.

"Stay away!" Frodo yelped in fear.

Great. Thanks to Boromir, Frodo was probably afraid of everybody that crossed his path.

"Frodo!" said Aragorn in a sharper voice. The tone in Aragorn's voice stopped him, and he stumbled a little bit more before pausing. "I swore to protect you! And so did Elysia!"

"Can you two protect me from yourself?" Frodo blurted out. His question caught me off-guard. He hesitated before revealing the Ring that was in his hands. "Would either of you destroy it?"

Aragorn moved closer, as though entranced by the Ring. But he quickly snapped out of it, able to resist the Ring's power. He gently knelt in front of Frodo and gently closed his hands over the Ring.

"I would have gone to the very heart of Mordor with you," Aragorn replied. "Into the very fires of Mordor."

"And Frodo," I said. I got eye level with him and noticed that he had tears in his eyes. "You know that I would protect you. Always."

"I know," Frodo replied. He began to choke up.

I smiled softly and stood up. But as I did, I frowned and noticed that his sword, Sting, glowed blue. In an instant, my eyes widened and I unsheathed my own sword.

"Run, Frodo!" I demanded. He quickly took a glance at Sting and looked up at me with fear in his eyes. He still continued to stay there, rooted on the spot. He looked terrified. "Go! Run!"

"What about you?!" Frodo insisted.

"I'm your protector, remember?! I'll catch up with you when I can. Now, go!"

Frodo did as he was told and took off. Aragorn and I calmly approached the Enemy, and we fought furiously, until Legolas and Gimli came to our aid. Legolas turned to me with a look of determination in his eyes.

"Go find Frodo," he instructed. "And don't leave him!"

I nodded, sheathed my sword, and sprinted towards the direction Frodo had taken off. Pretty soon, I found my way back to the shores of the river. My eyes widened when I saw that he was leaving with Sam.

"Frodo!" I pleaded desperately.

"Go back, Rivka," he demanded, his voice breaking.

"No, I'm not!" I protested as I began to wade into the water.

"Go back, Rivvy! It's not safe!"

"Does it look like I care?!" I said angrily as I continued to force my way towards the boat that Frodo and Sam were trying to escape in. Tears brimmed my eyes. "You know that I'm not stupid! I love you, Frodo!" I finally confessed. I would have been embarrassed and blushing brightly, if we weren't in such a serious situation. "You're not going anywhere without me! And I made myself a promise, Frodo. Not just a promise that Gandalf and Galadriel gave me. A promise that I made weeks before this stupid quest even began! I promised that I -"

I couldn't even finish. At that point, I'd already sank to the depths of the river. The ledge had caught me off-guard, and I tripped, slowly sinking to the bottom of the river.

Just as I thought that my lungs were going to pop, a hand grasped mine. I didn't hesitate to cling back on as the person hauled me into the boat. Once I came to the surface, I began to cough up water into the boat as someone continued to pull me in. I sat down, coughing the water up into the boat. Finally, I looked up to see Frodo, who had tears streaming down his cheeks. I stared at him with determination, and loyalty. He gripped both of my arms tightly, refusing to let go.

Once I seemed to have control over myself and I could clearly see, I punched Frodo on the shoulder. He looked quite surprised that I'd punched him, before I pulled him into a tight hug. Finally, I pulled out of the tight hug. Frodo held onto my shoulders firmly.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again, Frodo Baggins! I can't leave you because I. . . . I made a promise," I said in a choked voice as tears began to escape my eyes. "A promise that I made even before Gandalf and Galadriel told me to keep an eye on you."

"Rivvy, what did you promise?" Frodo asked. I could hear his voice breaking.

My lower lip quivered slightly. Seeing him look so broken made me feel worse.

"Don't you lose him, Rivka Rosewood," I said in a fierce voice. "And I don't mean to." I paused for a second, watching his reaction. Tears began to stream down his cheeks once my confession had hit him. "And I don't want to."

"Oh, Rivvy," Frodo choked.

He caught me by surprise as he unexpectedly smashed his lips against mine, kissing me fiercely. He kept his arms firmly, yet comfortingly, around my waist. A pleasant tingling sensation shot up my spine. I kept my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me.

Our kiss was rough, unexpected, and full of need, yet passionate. As we kissed, I could feel Frodo's tears beginning to stain my cheeks, dripping down my own skin. After a few minutes, we let go. Frodo looked just as stunned as I felt. Finally, he gripped my hands tightly, looking at me and Sam with a determined look on his face.

"C'mon, Rivvy. Sam," he said firmly. "We've got a quest to complete."

We took the oars and made our way over to the other side of the river as quickly as we could. By the time we'd gotten to the other side, we could see the other three men: Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. But they didn't do anything to stop us. They just let the three of us go on. And by dusk, we'd reached the rocky terrace that Gimli had been talking about just hours before. Mount Doom erupted up ahead, looking quite intimidating. It sent the hairs on the back of my neck rising.

"Mordor," Frodo murmured to himself. "I hope that the others will find a safer road."

I put a reassuring hand on Frodo's shoulder.

"They will, Frodo," I reassured him. "Strider will take care of them. They'll be safe with him."

"I suppose that we'll never see them again."

"We may yet, Mr. Frodo," Sam encouraged. "We may yet."

"Sam? Rivvy?" We didn't reply. Frodo turned to look at us with a soft smile on his face. "I'm glad that you're both with me."

The tips of my Hobbit ears turned pink, and I couldn't help but smile. Frodo smiled in return and we continued our dangerous trek towards the land of darkness.