Popcorn, water, and sewing all within reach of her favored spot on the couch, Sherry started The Fellowship. Nostalgia gripped her as the voice over intro started, and Sherry remembered sitting on her sofa at home the very first time she'd seen it. She'd been 12 the first time she'd seen it. Not in the theater, because she'd not been able to afford that, but cozy and home. She'd watched twice that day, and at least 4 more times before they'd had to take the rental back. Then she'd found the books, and devoured those. It was really the start of her love of fantasy as a genre. She supposed it was the same for many her age.
"So," she said out loud to Armagnac (Sherry knew she was listening), "This is the overall history of the One Ring. How it went from being forged to winding up in a dingy old cave where Bilbo found it." Where it had turned Smeagol into Gollum. Sherry picked at the popcorn and tried not to think about that part.
For the most part, she'd succeeded. She thoroughly enjoyed the movie, though her new life did give her some new perspectives on some scenes. Like all of the battle scenes. They were still really awesome, of course, but Sherry looked at battle with new eyes.
She started The Two Towers right away, since Fellowship ended in a very nice cliffhanger and because she still had a few hours to kill. She'd finished her popcorn, and had done a fair bit of mending, though Armagnac kept telling Sherry to watch the screen and not the sewing. It was her first time to see these, after all.
By the time the second movie was over, Sherry had spent the better part of 8 hours on her couch. It was really relaxing, and Armagnac thoroughly enjoyed what she'd seen so far. However, Sherry hadn't really watched too much of the last hour or so, not with her full attention. She sat there twisting the ring around on her finger thinking about the events that had transpired in and near the Death office. Those and all the events that had involved the ring since she'd been given it.
Her feelings were still very, very muddled. Was the dragon something she could trust? Was it something she wanted to trust? She could understand it's dislike of Caelius, seeing as he'd said he wanted power over them. Sherry couldn't blame anything for wanting to avoid that but still. Was something like the dragon driven by fear? Likely not...well. Not as a motivation. But what was it driven by? The need to lead? The need for truth? Was that bad in and of itself?
Sherry also mused over her role in things. She was a tool, clearly, hard as that could be to admit. It was somehow easier to admit that she was expendable as a Hunter.
It wasn't like the Dragon's gift had been all bad, either. She'd gotten truth, just like promised. And sure it had wanted her to kill Carl, but she could see why. It wasn't like it had succeeded anyway. She'd fought that fight and won. The ring was just a small piece of the legacy wasn't it? Was that why she'd been able to fight it?
Sherry glanced down at the ring. She did wonder if there was any power left in the ring. Mark seemed to think so; he wouldn't even touch it. But was there really? Would it even come if she called it? Should she even consider trying? She knew what some people would way - and that was "NO".
It was there, on her couch as the credits rolled that Sherry let herself admit that she did want to try. At least a little. Maybe some part of her was a little power hungry...just some part of her that was crushed by need to be true and loyal to rest of her life. Or maybe, and she was willing to admit this, too, maybe she wanted the dragon to like her, too. She had to wonder why it chose her in the first place, and to deny that she liked the idea of being chosen by something so grand was wrong. But who didn't like being special? Maybe that was part of why it had picked her. It knew she'd take to it. Take to being chosen, and take to the idea of being someone with the power to truly help and protect people. That was the kind of leader she wanted to be. Was this her path to get there?
"Bah!" Sherry flopped over on her couch. There was too much to think about, too much to consider. Was the ring dangerous? Yes. Had it caused her problems? Yes. But that seemed to be a special situation. She couldn't apologize for not trying to kill Carl - she refuse to apologize. She'd make that choice again, she knew. But why couldn't she have her cake and eat it, too? That's what cake was for, after all.
"I know." It was just that the first time she'd used the ring it had been fine. And she'd felt no ill will from the dragon until Carl was there (she'd only met it once before but still). And if the legacy was just afraid, well, she couldn't blame it.
Sherry sighed. She couldn't answer most of her questions without asking the legacy itself, and she doubted that would ever happen. But what she did know was simple enough. The ring was dangerous. She had handled it fine thus far, however, so it was safest in her care, she was sure of that. If anyone else got hurt by it she'd do her best to make sure it was only her.
