febobe

Title: Into the East
Author: Febobe (Frodo Baggins of Bag End)
Rating/Warnings: PG (graphic food descriptions, some occasionally graphic medical angst - NO CANON CHARACTER DEATH. I promise! It may seem at first that I'm headed that direction, but I absolutely guarantee, NO canon characters will be killed off in this fic!)
Summary: After the Quest, Frodo comes down with a serious illness, and journeys to Harad in search of better health.
Characters: Frodo, Sam, Elrond, Eowyn, Faramir, Merry, Pippin, an OC named Kalil (partly in tribute to Claudia's own Khalil), other supporting OCs, appearances by Aragorn and possibly Arwen. Others TBA, if any.
Disclaimer: I do not own and have not created any of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, neither characters nor world nor any of his concepts. I'm just playing in the sandbox, with no ill intent. Original characters, including (but not limited to) Kalil are my own creation, and I would appreciate it if they weren't used without asking. (Unlike Tolkien, I'm not dead!) This fic meets FrodoHealers standards and is free from profanity, sex, and slash.
Notes: Sam lovers, I think this is a fic you'll enjoy, as it strongly features his voice and viewpoint. Frodo lovers, this is definitely a fic you'll enjoy, especially if you're an old-school FrodoHealers fan. Faramir and Eowyn, Merry and Pippin will all have significant roles to play throughout this fic, though it takes a few chapters to get there. Also, please note that I have chosen Indian food for the predominant culinary culture of Harad. I realize that it may well be closer to Middle Eastern cookery, but I wanted to give it a distinctive tie and recognizable flavor, and I chose Indian. No ill will intended if you prefer a different interpretation; just know that this is my interpretation only and I realize it isn't the only potential take on Haradraic food out there.

CHAPTER THREE

But Mr. Frodo weren't getting no better, not even after a week in bed with me trying to get him to eat. He wouldn't touch bacon, one o'his old favorite foods, nor sausage neither, nor anything much but soup, and mostly the brothy soups at that. He'd eat up thin mushroom soup or light chicken broth, and now and again a good rich soup or one made all nice and chunky with vegetables and bits o'meat, but mostly he wouldn't touch nothing solid, 'cept maybe applesauce.

And he kept getting thinner and thinner.

And Lord Elrond looked more worried by the day, and Aragorn did right near everything you could think of to get Mr. Frodo eating and feeling better, but all he'd do is lie in bed and beg to be allowed to rest, and he didn't want nothing much more'n water. When I'd bathe him, it fair broke my heart, it did, for all he was so thin and bony. Every bit of weight he'd gained back those first few weeks afer the Quest was long gone, and took with it more besides.

So one night Aragorn and Lord Elrond called me in and left Eowyn and Arwen fussing over Mr. Frodo, trying to soothe his fever and coax him into eating a few bites.

"Frodo is not doing at all well."

I glared at Aragorn. "As if I hadn't noticed. It's not for want of trying that he won't eat, I'm telling you; he just tells me he don't feel like it, and he won't let me get more'n a bite or two down him most meals."

"We know, Sam. But no one can change things. There is but one hope, I believe, left to Frodo. But I would not suggest it without your blessing." Aragorn hesitated, and he and Lord Elrond looked at each other before he looked back at me. "Faramir and Eowyn will be leaving in a fortnight for the city of Riavod, the capital city of the Haradrim. Harad is a hot and dry clime, much warmer than even Minas Tirith. They have ways with medicine which are unknown to us, though much care would have to be taken in selecting a sufficiently loyal physician. What we were wondering was - do you think you could accompany them so that Frodo could also go?"

I gaped.

I goggled.

I couldn't help myself.

Harad? The country o'them foreigners? Strange Big Folk who'd worked for Sauron himself?

"Wouldn't it be too dangerous?"

"The roads have been cleared. And the Haradrim respect for authority is well established at this point. There are always a few traitors in any group, but most of them are glad to be free of Sauron's reign, and happy to serve a king who will let them keep their old ways of life and govern them but loosely. Still, a presence there is required, and Faramir and Eowyn seem most capable and suited for the task. They love Frodo dearly, and would see him well, and Eowyn has promised that she would, of course, help you nurse your master."

Aragorn hesitated.

"We would not want Frodo to be alone and without friends, whatever the outcome of his illness. Faramir and Eowyn will tend him well, but we feel another hobbit would be a fine addition. Merry and Pippin may also join you, if you are all willing; Merry will serve as Eowyn's Rohirrim escort, and Pippin as part of Faramir's Gondorian guard."

"Of course," Elrond added, "if you deem it better for Frodo to stay here, we will hear your case, but...I fear greatly for his health and life should he stay."

Well, I felt like the world had been knocked out from under me, and no mistake.

Go to a strange land with Mr. Frodo. (Well, that much weren't so new.)

Stay with him till he died or got better. (Nothing new there, either.)

They weren't asking me to do nothing I hadn't already did.

"I'll do whatever's best for Mr. Frodo. If he needs to go to some place, I'll pack us up myself. I'll make sure he don't have to do without nothing."

"Thank you, Sam. I realize this is a daunting prospect for you."

I looked up at Aragorn. "Ain't half as bad as losing Mr. Frodo, if you ask me."

-to be continued!-