Left
is a The Lord of the Rings fanfic cowritten by Mish and Trilliah.
What was the incident in Shelob's lair and its aftermath like for Frodo? Wakening from nightmares, Frodo finds himself alone in Cirith Ungol and struggles with if and why Sam left him behind.
This fanfic includes examples of the following tropes:
- All Just a Dream: Part of the fanfic is Frodo's poison-induced nightmare.
- And I Must Scream: At one point, Frodo awakens as Sam is begging him to wake up. He is conscious but helpless to move or to reassure Sam that he's alive.
- The Corruption: One of Frodo's fears is that the Ring might have gotten to Sam.
- Death Wail: Frodo screams when he discovers Sam's body during his nightmare.
- Defiant Captive: Frodo tries to withhold information about his homeland and identity, and when the orcs mention Sam, Frodo clams up entirely for fear of betraying him. He also retorts to the orcs threatening him that Sauron won't be happy if he's killed just yet.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Lampshaded. Frodo is astonished when Sam tells him about his battle with Shelob, and he's even more astonished that Sam does not seem to acknowledge how spectacular it was.
- Dramatic Drop: Frodo drops Sting as Shelob jabs him with her stinger.
- Forgets to Eat: Sam, just like in canon forgets food and water while searching for his master.
- I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Sam tells Frodo about his fight with Shelob very matter-of-factly and he is surprised by how his master keeps harping on it.
- Man Hug: Frodo and Sam hug each other.
- Nightmare Dreams: Frodo has a nightmare about finding out that he murdered Sam when Sam offered to share the Ring.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Sam, as in canon, begs Frodo, "Don't go where I can't follow." Frodo, conscious but immobile, tries calling to Sam to "come back."
- Please Wake Up: In his nightmare, Frodo shakes Sam's body and begs him to wake up.
- Talking to the Dead: In his nightmare, Frodo tells Sam that he is "so sorry."
- A Taste of the Lash: Frodo gets whipped by a tower orc if he so much as moves around.
- What Have I Done?: Frodo has two of these. One happens during a dream sequence when he discovers that he killed Sam in a fit of Ring-jealousy. The other happens when he lashes out at Sam in Cirith Ungol and realizes how close he came to fulfilling the nightmare.
