The Adventure of Andrea Baggins

Gollum

Andy tried to hold on to something. The dead body of the goblin king, one of the dwarves, the railing of the bridge. With her blood covered hands, everything slipped out of her grip. As her body got slammed against a rock outcrop, a scream escaped her mouth, pain spreading through her ribcage. She slid of the wrong side and fell further into the deep, no one else in sight. The air was forces out of her lungs, as she hit the floor, black dots appearing in front of her eyes. As soon as she could breathe again, she tried to get up. Suddenly, a sound reached her ears, making her stop in her movements. It was getting closer. As quiet as possible, Andy lied back down, hiding between the weird mushrooms that caught her fall. A small, pale figure passed her hiding spot, dragging an unconscious body with him. After it was gone, Andy stayed still for a moment longer, making sure it did not notice her. Carefully she stood up, gathering her Daggers. She was about to follow the creature, as something shiny caught her attention. She bent down, and picked it up from the ground.

A ring.

A plain golden ring.

Or so it appeared.

Without a second thought, she packed it away in her pocket before quickly following the creapy creature. After sneaking through the shadows for a few minutes, a limp in her step, she reached a lake.

"The cold hard lands, they bites out hands, they gnaws our feet! The rock and stones, they're like old bones all bare of meat! Cold as death, they have no breath, it's good to eat!", the creature sang to himself, hitting the head of the goblin with a rock until it was dead.

Andy hid behind a rock, wanting to facepalm herself. Why did she think, this was a good idea? The last time she was here, he already tried to eat her! Why tempt fate like that?

She snapped out of her thoughts, as she realised, she didn't hear anything anymore. Panic flushed trough her body and she pressed herself closer to the rock she was leaned up against. A pebble touching her shoulder was the only warning she got, before it jumped down right in front of her.

"Bless us and splash us, Precious! That's a meaty mouthful!", it spoke joyfully. Andy pushed her daggers to its thin neck, before it thought of doing anything stupid. Seeing the blades, its eyes immediately softened, almost looking puppy-like.

"Thanks for the compliment, toothpick. However, I'm not to eat. "

Gollum finally took a proper look at her. After a second, it turned away.

"It looks like her, doesn't it, Precious. But it cannot be her, can it, Precious. But what if it is?" He turned back to Andy, looking at her suspicious, before carefully crawling closer. Andy felt uncomfortable, but let it happen. After being just out of reach of her, he held his head out and sniffed. "It is her, Precious!", he exclaimed and started bouncing around in excitement, clapping his hands together. "It is the Mistress Andrea!"

"Indeed, it is", Andy confirmed, getting a little uncomfortable of him talking to himself.

"She's back! Now we can eat her, Precious! We couldn't last time. But now we can. Is she soft? Is she crunchy?"

He got closer to her, a hungry look in his eyes. Andy hit the blades of her daggers against each other, creating a metallic sound. Hearing that, pulled him back out of his trance, making him back up with a hiss.

"Oi! I told you, I'm not staying for supper. I need you to show me the way out again, like last time."

"Why? Is the Mistress lost again, Precious?", he asked turning his head to her.

"Yes, toothpick, she is. And I'd like to get unlost as fast as possible", Andy spoke. He was even more unstable, as last she saw him. He still tried to eat her, back then, but as she made him a fire to cook his fish, he turned out to be helpful. More or less. Now, the Hobbit he used to be, seemed completely gone. His Precious has consumed him completely.