More "Chance Encounter"
Mar. 8th, 2005 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerWell, I've got to go to bed in a few minutes; we'll be getting up about 3am so we can make the drive to Florida for my cousin's funeral. I'm shot to heck tonight, but I wanted to get in one more little bit of this story for now.
PART 24
The hobbits had packed up their belongings: mostly the clothing gifted to them since the end of the War, and servants had arrived to carry it down to the new house. Only Pippin was not present--he was already on duty in the throne room for the morning. Merry would also need to attend Éomer in a little while, but for now he was going on down to the guesthouse with the others.
Sam was elated. “Mr. Frodo, I don’t mean any offense to these Men, but hobbits are not meant to live so high up. It will be nice to sleep in a ground floor again.”
Merry nodded emphatically. “I couldn’t spend much time at the window. It made me quite giddy to look down.” He shuddered. He had done his best on their journey to suppress his fear of heights, but it had never truly left him, and now that more immediate dangers were past, he found it claiming his attention once more.
“I have to agree,” said Frodo. “I, too, will be glad to once more sleep on a ground floor. And I think the house will be a bit more homelike. It will be just the Fellowship; not all these servants and guards about us all the time.”
Legolas overheard the hobbits’ quiet conversation among themselves, as he and Gimli followed after the servants who carried all the gear. He shook his head ruefully. While it was true that Frodo had prevailed in the matter of not having to have servants about the house, there would still be guards. They would not be in the house, and would be stationed unobtrusively, but neither Aragorn nor Faramir had any intention of leaving the hobbits completely unguarded. He smiled. As if there were need for such, with himself, Gimli and Gandalf also sharing the place. And as Merry and Pippin had proven, the hobbits themselves were not without a means of protection.
Gandalf was already there; he awaited them at the gate to the courtyard, and led them inside. Once there, the servants were to leave the things they had brought and return to the Citadel.
Only Merry had yet to see the house. Frodo and Sam showed him the chamber they would be sharing. He stared at the bed. “Lawks! You could get half the Shire in that bed!”
Frodo laughed. “Hardly, cousin. But we should be comfortable enough.”
“Well, I’ve little time to admire our new dwelling. I need to change into my armor and livery, and go to attend my king.” And he quickly began to do so.
Frodo watched as Merry prepared to go to his duty, with the mingled feeling of pride and dismay that he felt every time he saw his younger cousins so array themselves. He was prouder of them than he could begin to say, for all they had accomplished, for the way they had acquitted themselves so bravely and staunchly. Yet still, he felt dismayed at the thought that they had needed to learn a warrior’s skills, that it had been necessary for them to kill. Such a thing was against hobbit-nature, and was bound, sooner or later to take its toll on them. If the nightmares were anything to go by, it already had. He sighed.
Merry looked at him sharply. “Frodo, are you feeling guilty again because Pip and I came along?” He could usually tell what Frodo was thinking.
Frodo flushed. “I just wish that you could have stayed home peacefully.”
“Peacefully?” Merry shook his head. “What do you think would have happened to us, with the Black Riders already on your tail? I have spent more hours than you can imagine, worrying about poor Fatty.” Merry walked over, and put his hands on Frodo’s shoulders. “We were *meant* to come along Frodo. We had things to do as well. Not as important as what you did, but still needing to be done.”
“Mr. Merry’s making sense, Mr. Frodo. Why just think what they’ve done, and how bad it might have turned out for Strider and the others, without them!”
“Listen to them, Frodo,” came Gandalf’s voice from the doorway. “All fell out in the way that it should have. Do not take burdens on yourself that are not yours to take.”
Frodo gave a rueful little laugh. “Well, I daresay all of you are right. And this is too nice an occasion to spoil with gloomy talk. What shall we do, our first day in this new house?”
“Well,” said Sam, “seeing as how I’ve finally got a proper kitchen, even though it’s a bit too large, I’m going to see about scaring us up some elevenses! Anybody care to join me?”
This met with general approval from everyone. Only Merry looked a bit downcast, as he had to leave. He’d missed Sam’s cooking.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Merry,” Sam called after him, cheerfully in his element once more. “I’ll have a proper tea waiting for you and Mr. Pippin when you get back.”
If all goes well, we'll be home about midnight tomorrow night.
PART 24
The hobbits had packed up their belongings: mostly the clothing gifted to them since the end of the War, and servants had arrived to carry it down to the new house. Only Pippin was not present--he was already on duty in the throne room for the morning. Merry would also need to attend Éomer in a little while, but for now he was going on down to the guesthouse with the others.
Sam was elated. “Mr. Frodo, I don’t mean any offense to these Men, but hobbits are not meant to live so high up. It will be nice to sleep in a ground floor again.”
Merry nodded emphatically. “I couldn’t spend much time at the window. It made me quite giddy to look down.” He shuddered. He had done his best on their journey to suppress his fear of heights, but it had never truly left him, and now that more immediate dangers were past, he found it claiming his attention once more.
“I have to agree,” said Frodo. “I, too, will be glad to once more sleep on a ground floor. And I think the house will be a bit more homelike. It will be just the Fellowship; not all these servants and guards about us all the time.”
Legolas overheard the hobbits’ quiet conversation among themselves, as he and Gimli followed after the servants who carried all the gear. He shook his head ruefully. While it was true that Frodo had prevailed in the matter of not having to have servants about the house, there would still be guards. They would not be in the house, and would be stationed unobtrusively, but neither Aragorn nor Faramir had any intention of leaving the hobbits completely unguarded. He smiled. As if there were need for such, with himself, Gimli and Gandalf also sharing the place. And as Merry and Pippin had proven, the hobbits themselves were not without a means of protection.
Gandalf was already there; he awaited them at the gate to the courtyard, and led them inside. Once there, the servants were to leave the things they had brought and return to the Citadel.
Only Merry had yet to see the house. Frodo and Sam showed him the chamber they would be sharing. He stared at the bed. “Lawks! You could get half the Shire in that bed!”
Frodo laughed. “Hardly, cousin. But we should be comfortable enough.”
“Well, I’ve little time to admire our new dwelling. I need to change into my armor and livery, and go to attend my king.” And he quickly began to do so.
Frodo watched as Merry prepared to go to his duty, with the mingled feeling of pride and dismay that he felt every time he saw his younger cousins so array themselves. He was prouder of them than he could begin to say, for all they had accomplished, for the way they had acquitted themselves so bravely and staunchly. Yet still, he felt dismayed at the thought that they had needed to learn a warrior’s skills, that it had been necessary for them to kill. Such a thing was against hobbit-nature, and was bound, sooner or later to take its toll on them. If the nightmares were anything to go by, it already had. He sighed.
Merry looked at him sharply. “Frodo, are you feeling guilty again because Pip and I came along?” He could usually tell what Frodo was thinking.
Frodo flushed. “I just wish that you could have stayed home peacefully.”
“Peacefully?” Merry shook his head. “What do you think would have happened to us, with the Black Riders already on your tail? I have spent more hours than you can imagine, worrying about poor Fatty.” Merry walked over, and put his hands on Frodo’s shoulders. “We were *meant* to come along Frodo. We had things to do as well. Not as important as what you did, but still needing to be done.”
“Mr. Merry’s making sense, Mr. Frodo. Why just think what they’ve done, and how bad it might have turned out for Strider and the others, without them!”
“Listen to them, Frodo,” came Gandalf’s voice from the doorway. “All fell out in the way that it should have. Do not take burdens on yourself that are not yours to take.”
Frodo gave a rueful little laugh. “Well, I daresay all of you are right. And this is too nice an occasion to spoil with gloomy talk. What shall we do, our first day in this new house?”
“Well,” said Sam, “seeing as how I’ve finally got a proper kitchen, even though it’s a bit too large, I’m going to see about scaring us up some elevenses! Anybody care to join me?”
This met with general approval from everyone. Only Merry looked a bit downcast, as he had to leave. He’d missed Sam’s cooking.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Merry,” Sam called after him, cheerfully in his element once more. “I’ll have a proper tea waiting for you and Mr. Pippin when you get back.”
If all goes well, we'll be home about midnight tomorrow night.