little gentleman

Because of Bilbo's fall, Thorin had to be separated from the others, and the other five detoured and continued eastward, while Thorin took the risk of climbing down the cliff alone to find Bilbo.The cliff was not as steep as everyone thought, and Thorin prayed in his heart that Bilbo must live.The loose earth and rocks slipped from the dwarf king's feet from time to time, and every step was very dangerous.

"Bilbo!" Thorin called down the cliff, and if Bilbo was conscious he must let him know that he was going down to rescue him.

no respond.

Thorin climbed a little further down, and called again, "Bilbo! Are you down there?"

Suddenly, a small voice answered him: "Sorin?"

Thorin was pleasantly surprised that Bilbo did not sound weak, at least he was not seriously hurt.

"Bilbo, are you hurt?" Thorin asked aloud.

"A little, but it's all right," answered Bilbo.

"Stay still, I'll be there in a minute!" Thorin scrambled down, wanting to be at Bilbo at once.

At the same time, Bilbo was sitting on a pile of soft weeds that was crushed by his body. As he rolled down, he kept grabbing the grass growing on the cliff wall and between the cliffs to slow down his speed, perhaps because there were many trees on the steep slope. It was loose earth and long weeds, and Bilbo was not seriously injured in the fall, only a few minor scrapes.He fell into a small river at the bottom of the valley. The water was not deep, but it acted as a buffer.Bilbo had rested on a pile of weeds when he climbed ashore, and was only a little dizzy and sick from the rapid fall.Gathering his mind, he was surprised by his own condition: Even with the buffer of mud and river water, it is impossible for him to suffer only minor injuries?

Thorin climbed to the bottom of the ravine, and all he saw was Bilbo, who was soaking wet, sitting on the grass.Bilbo's wounds looked much worse than they really were, his hands were bloody, and his face was covered with many scratches.

Thorin took both of Bilbo's wrists, and opened his palms to examine them carefully. "You're bleeding a lot!"

"Uh...it's not as serious as it seems." Bilberg stretched out his hands, feeling that there was nothing serious about it.

"Can you stand up?" Thorin asked with concern, squatting in front of Bilbo.

"No problem, I suppose," said Bilbo, pushing himself to his feet, only to grin from the pain in his hand.

The two came to the river, and Thorin helped Bilbo wash his wound in the river, and thin streams of blood meandered and scattered in the clear water.After a while, the bright red on Bilbo's palm faded, but a small stream of blood still flowed away with the river.He lifted his wet hands from the water, bringing up a crystal drop of water.

Thorin tore two clean pieces of cloth from his shirt, and bound Bilbo's hands.Bilbo's hands were wrapped in soft cloth, which warmed him and made him aware that the rest of his body was chilly.A gust of wind blew, and Bilbo shivered.

"We have to make a fire," Thorin said, and began to look for firewood.

The sun was already setting when the two started the fire.Bilbo took off his drenched coat to dry by the fire.As soon as he took off his coat, he suddenly noticed the mithril armor that was still wearing outside his shirt, and he suddenly understood something.

Mithril must have protected me, thought Bilbo.

The two people beside the fire were worried, the firelight reflected their faces, but the warmth that rushed to their faces could not make them feel at ease.

"Haste makes waste!" exclaimed Bilbo.

"Aragorn and the others have already left from the opposite side, and they probably will be much ahead of us." Thorin might want to comfort Bilbo, but he couldn't even comfort himself.

"I think they'll get Frodo back, as they should." Bilbo wasn't confident either.

There was no speech for a while, only the dead branches peeling and peeling in the fire.

Bilbo struggled for a long time, but at last he mustered up his courage: "Thorin, may I ask you something?"

"What?" Thorin replied indifferently.

"Bud...he was fifteen when he was exiled?" Bilbo asked the question that had been weighing on his mind today.

Thorin froze for a moment, but answered Bilbo, "Yes, that was many years ago."

"Why do you exile a child?" Bilbo forced himself not to flinch. "I know it's your father's order, but don't you agree with it?"

Thorin fell silent again.

Bilbo looked nervously at the silent dwarf. Perhaps Thorin would be angry at him for asking that question, but he was afraid that Thorin would answer in the affirmative.

Thorin's answer made Bilbo's heart sink: "Yes."

Bilbo felt even colder than before, and the cold went down to his bones, and he couldn't even shiver.He once misunderstood Sorin because of prejudice, until later he learned that Sorin was an upright person, and because of this, he gradually developed a good impression of Sorin.But now, the facts have teased him again. Does he have to reverse his evaluation of Sorin?Was Thorin really a cruel king?

Seeing the dumb and sad look of the hobbit, Thorin felt a burst of heartache, and he slowly said: "I admit that I put all my anger on Bard at that time, and I couldn't forgive him at all, not because of Akon Gems - at least it's not gems that make me angry - what makes me angry is that he helped my sister's abductor escape. When my father sentenced him to banishment, I wanted him as much as my father The most severe punishment. Bilbo, Bard did not lie, he did go away because of my cruelty, and I caused his suffering."

Bilbo was loath to admit it, but he was eager to hear Thorin explain himself, and even the simplest denial, or partial denial, of the charge would make Bilbo forgive him.But Thorin didn't do what Bilbo wanted. He just confirmed Bard's words again, just like a suspect in the dock confessing to a crime.

Yet Bilbo had to admit that he was delighted at Thorin's frankness, especially when it was only to him.

Bilbo asked softly, "Do you regret it, Thorin?"

"I'm sorry for Bud, at least after I calmed down and realized that leaving a young boy wandering the world alone didn't make me happy, it made me very disturbed," Thorin said, "but the things I regret There's only one, and I don't know if I can get it back."

If I could do it all over again, I would cherish and pursue the person I love so much from the very beginning.

Bilbo didn't understand Thorin's subtext, and he felt conflicted. He was horrified to find that the reason why he couldn't let go was that he had fallen in love with Thorin, so he cared more about Thorin's affairs.

On the other side of the mountain, in the Dangerous Lands to the east, Legolas and Frodo were also in trouble.

Before heading east, Legolas did not fail to consider the dangerous environment, and he also made various preparations.But the inexperienced elf prince just thought he had made sufficient preparations. It wasn't until he was faced with many challenges that he realized that no matter how well the theoretical argument was, he could not actually put it into practice.What's more, he didn't consider taking care of a companion at the beginning.

When passing through the mountain road, Bud only sent them to the outskirts of the forest, and even Bud himself didn't know how dangerous the road behind was.At that time, Bard persuaded Legolas to think twice, but Legolas insisted on leaving. He had already come here, and it would be embarrassing to turn back now.

Legolas asked Frodo one last time before he set foot on the dangerous mountain road: "Frodo, no one knows what lies ahead. I can't guarantee what will happen. Will you come with me?"

Frodo nodded without hesitation: "As I said, I will not let you take risks alone. Besides, I want to go east of Mordor just like you!" Frodo's thoughts are quite different from when he first set out At that time, he just wanted to persuade Legolas to change his mind, and after the persuasion failed, he insisted on walking with Legolas.During the journey, Legolas mentioned his wish to him: he wanted to be the first elf to set foot on the mysterious land east of Mordor. Legend has it that no one in the east can reach it, and he wanted to explore this land. New World.Frodo was struck by his wish, and this was a great endeavor for him as the young hobbit had always yearned for adventure.

"If you still walk with me, I can't protect you as well as before." Legolas said truthfully.

"I will keep myself out of danger as much as I can," said Frodo, smiling shyly and innocently, "and I will keep you out of danger, too."

Seeing that Frodo had made up his mind, Legolas stopped trying to persuade him.They bid farewell to Bud and set foot on the winding mountain road.

Everything went smoothly at first, Legolas was light, and the steep mountain road was as smooth as walking on the ground.But Frodo was not so easy as he was. Hobbits are good at running, but they have little experience of running over mountains.Legolas had to slow down, giving Lavrodo a hand now and then.Less than a third of the way, they encountered a severe landslide, but fortunately Legolas reacted quickly, picked up Frodo and jumped away.The road behind them was blocked by rolling rocks, and it was impossible to turn back now.And when Bilbo and his party came here, what they saw was the road blocked by stones.

After detouring the long mountain road, the two finally came to the dangerous Mordor.Mordor looked much more desolate than the west, and the shrill crows of ravens echoed in the dim yellow sky, making one's hair stand on end.

"Can we really get through here, Legolas? It's like a land of death!" asked Frodo in fear.

"It's too late to regret now," Legolas said without the slightest regret, "Mordor is much poorer than the rest of Middle-earth, that's why half-orcs live so barbarously!"

"But don't Goblins ever think of leaving here?" Frodo followed Legolas, walking cautiously across the parched ground.

"Who will welcome them? During the war, the half-orcs were repulsed by the coalition of elves and humans, and they had a feud at that time." Legolas said, "As for now, some half-orcs living on the border of Mordor have I went to work in the human territory, but it is impossible for these ugly guys to appear in the elf territory!"

"Are the Goblins who live on the Border any better than the other Goblins?" asked Frodo curiously.

Legolas answered patiently: "The half-orcs living on the border are closer to where humans live, and are also influenced by human customs, so they are not as uncivilized as the half-orcs in the depths of Mordor. But even in human society , half-orcs can only do the lowest jobs, and most humans are unwilling to hire them."

"Oh! I am so sorry for them!" sighed Frodo.

"Don't be too kind to them, Frodo, they won't appreciate it!" Legolas warned him.

They crossed a low hill, and now they were deep in the heart of Mordor, and Frodo felt visibly that Legolas tensed up, and the Elves stopped talking to him, but looked warily from side to side.

"Frodo, be careful not to part from me," Legolas reminded Frodo, and he held out a long, graceful hand to the hobbit.

Frodo took Legolas' fingers tenderly, and Legolas squeezed his little hand into his own.The elf's grip was so tight that Frodo could feel a slight shudder in the elf's body, which made him more tense too.

Two figures, one tall and one short, were walking on the open ground. From a distance, they looked like a tall adult pulling a petite child.

Looking at them in the dark is a pair of malicious eyes.