The breeze rolled down the green hills, and washed upon me as I basked on a secluded rock. As the wind ruffled my damp and stringy, unkempt blonde hair, I hummed a melody and tried to tame the tangles. On the riverbank, I smiled at a group of children, smaller than other leg-walkers I'd seen, splashing in the shallows. Their parents (like their children, smaller than most other humans), kept close eyes on them. But that was no matter. They had a Water Child in their river now.

And what, pray tell, is a Water Child, you may ask? I suppose you could call us what the Men Folk in Middle Earth would call us… Merfolk. We live in large bodies of water that are always reachable by the Sea. Each river, lake, pond and stream in Middle Earth had a Water Child residing in it. We were the guardians of the Water, and those who were in danger from our waters. My family –my father, two sisters, and I- made our homes hear, after word had gotten to us that two of the folk in this land had died in a boating accident, for none of us were there to protect them. We were now the appointed protectors of a water called The Brandywine River.

I used to wonder why the Leg walkers did not ever think we exist, but my father told me the Men folk are blind to us. We can change our looks so Men will see what they can dismiss as an everyday thing, such as a fish, or even one of their own kind, swimming around in the water.

But when we aren't disguised, we surely are a sight to see. You see, where men would wield brandish two, ungainly legs, my kind would sport a beautiful fish tail, with scales that would sparkle in the moonlight.

But why all this need for confusion and deception? In order to survive, the Merfolk have had to hide so we won't be hunted for our tailfins or hair, which can be woven into the strongest cloth in existence. But those times are over, for we have hidden ourselves well with our magic. So well, in fact, that some of my people had magicked themselves to become human. Nowadays, we would simply change forms to hide away from prying Air Breather's eyes.

Laughter from the other side of the riverbank reached my ears. I eased myself into the water, and swam a little closer to the source of delight. Behind another rock, I spied three more of the short folk. There were four of them. All four were men –As far as I could tell- And two of them were laughing at two others who were…what was the word…? Dancing! Dancing around and singing merrily. They were younger looking men, maybe in their twenties if they were Merfolk. The two laughers were propped against a tree, with long sticks sticking out of theirs mouths with…Smoke? Smoke or fog coming out of the ends. One was sandy haired, a little on the heavy side, and was sitting next to a fair, dark haired fellow with sad blue eyes. The two that were dancing were the ones who caught my eyes the most. One -obviously the youngest in this group- was stomping around in a silly matter, while the other one was singing his song. The singer had reddish hair, and his blue eyes sparkled mischievously as he danced with his friend. The four men all had very large and furry feet! This surprised me most of all, because none of the Land Walkers I ever saw looked the way these did.

I sat there for some time, watching the four friends as they talked, laughed, and used those funny sticks in their mouths. Darkness fast approached, and the four Land Folk headed away from the riverbank. The singer remained for a moment though. He faced the water, and took a deep breath of the fresh air, and smiled contentedly. He then took off in the wake of his friends.

I stared after him for a few moments after. He was…different. They all were, but he had something that caught my attention the moment I saw him. I sighed, and dove under the water, in search of my new home, and my father, who would probably tell me what sort of people these folk were.

Father roared with laughter at my question that at dinner about the Surface-dwellers. "The Halflings?" He guffawed, sinking into his niche in the wall of our grotto. "Well, Ariel, I'm surprised I haven't told you yet. Forgive me." He chuckled one last time, and deep breath. "Halflings- or Hobbits, rather- are practically just shorter versions of men and elves. They treat their waters kindly, which I am grateful for. They never stay far from their homeland, only going as far north as the Lake Evendun, which isn't so far from our old home at the Gulf." He sighed, apparently thinking of more to tell me. "Well, that is all I can think of. You can feel free to go ashore as one of them, for I've been told that these Hobbits are peaceful." With that, he headed to the opening of the cave. "I'll go find your sisters, and tell them. Get some sleep, youngest daughter. Sweet Dreams."

For nearly six days, I watched the hobbits as they would come to the River's shore, and I slowly fell in love with these people. They were so simple, and so pure. I always kept a lookout for the four I first met, and especially for the one who sang. My vigils for them had not gone in vain, for I saw the four after my first two days observing the river.

I sat under the shade of the tree I first saw them under, safely hidden next to a boulder in the shallows. I had learned their names over the past few days. Frodo was the dark haired and pale one, Sam was the plump one, Pippin the youngest one, and Merry was the singer's name. These four had captured my heart, and I instantly felt I needed to protect them most of all when they neared my river. As Pippin came charging up the hill, I kept my eyes on his companion, who turned out to be my singer, Merry. Frodo and Sam came up the hill, conversing casually as they watched the younger hobbits roll down the hill, laughing as they went. I laughed too- they certainly were a sight to see!

About an hour passed. Frodo read a book, Sam smoked a pipe -A term I picked up from these four- and Merry and Pippin talked about...women.

"Honestly, Mer, when do ya think you'll find a nice lass to court? You're gettin' old, you are." Pippin snacked at his friend's lack of girls flocking to him. From what I'd heard the past few days, Pippin and Frodo were quite the charmers. "Now, now, Pip." Merry rebuttled. "Just because you don't see me with a lass, doesn't mean I don't have a lass in mind."

Frodo looked up from his book and shared an incredulous look with Pippin, and Sam coughed on his smoke. Merry nodded.

A few moments passed. Everyone (Including myself,) waited for Merry to tell us who this girl was. I had to admit, I was a little jealous, but I had grown fond of My Hobbits (As I had secretly began to call them). Frodo broke the silence, "Well, are you going to tell us who she is?"

Merry chuckled. "Well, she's a curvy lass, with long, beautiful hair-" (I have long beautiful hair, too, I thought wistfully.) "-And beautiful eyes, clear as a fresh water spring."

The other three were silent. "Estella Bolger?" Pippin piped up.

So that's who it was! I snorted angrily. The hobbits heard the sound, and looked around for the source of it. In a panic, I ducked my head under the water, and missed part of the conversation. When I resurfaced, it was to the sound of Merry's indignant voice. "-within ten feet of her even if you paid me in gold. She's a menace, that one is." I glanced at the others, who were chortling. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief-wait, what? Why am I relieved?

"But keep in mind, lads. Once I find her- the One, I mean- Then, it'll hit me...Like lightning!"

As if it were fate, a rumble of thunder echoed nearby, as the first few raindrops began to fall. Frodo tucked his book away, and Sam stashed away his pipe. They said something to the other two, and Pippin followed the older Hobbits. Merry yelled over his shoulder, "I think I'll stay for a moment. I am right behind you three!" He stood looking into the river, hands tucked into his pockets. For a few minutes He stood, and I stared at him. He and his friends were always a little out of my line of sight, but I could always tell which Hobbit was which, and that Merry was very handsome.

I think it was then I had realized something- I care for this short Land Walker. For nearly a week I watched him and his friends, and I already felt like I had known them for years. Merry was the one out of the group who acted like a young child and an adult at the same time. Oh, and how he made me smile!

I sighed. Rather loudly, I fear. His eyes snapped up fro the lake, and looked around for the cause of the noise. "Who's there?" He asked. Then, to my horror, he came walking to my secret spot. I froze, for I knew he saw at least my eyes peeking from behind the rock. "Hello, there who- Hey, wait!"

He tried to talk to me, but I dove beneath the water before he could see the rest of me. I kept swimming, leaving Merry -And my heart- on land.