2. His Greatest Mistake
Hemmed in by Orthanc's black parapet and the thousand-foot drop, he paces, or hunches brooding as smoke curls away into the moonlight; well for me that Saruman believes the weed befuddles rather than clears the mind, and leaves me my pipe. Fool have I been – nearly the fool he thinks me!
He shakes his head irritably. Ever since the Council last met I knew he mistrusted my judgement, even Elrond's, and Galadriel's – but I never mistrusted him! And now, when Frodo most needs me... But he dare not bend his thought upon the Shire. Radagast, my old friend... be true!
~~~
For the tolkien_weekly "Curl" challenge.
Gandalf says at the Council of Elrond, of his decision to go straight to Saruman rather than warning Frodo after he meets Radagast at the end of June 3018 on the Shire-borders and hears that the Nazgul are abroad: "Never did I make a greater mistake!"
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
