Just a short oneshot. It can be read as Merry, Pippin, Frodo, or Sam's point of view. I tried to write it so that it could have been thought by any of them. I was feeling a little nostalgic after leaving school and I decided to take it out on the fanfiction :P
Hope Lies in Home
It seemed like forever.
The thought of the Shire haunted him every night as he tried to make sleep come to him. The woods, and the fields, and the beautiful little Hobbit holes; the thought of return to them were the only thing that kept him going.
Even the inhabitants who had often seemed dull and unadventurous seemed welcoming and despite all their distance, they seemed like a bright beacon of hope in this blackness that surrounded him.
Back home, the nights were never so black. You could see the light of the next house from your window.
Back home, he had felt brave and strong- nothing compared to the feeling of slowness and stupidity that followed him like a constant companion here.
The world was so much bigger, and so much darker than he could possibly have imagined, fell creatures followed him wherever he went, and a kind stranger was regarded with suspicion and immediate dislike.
The night rolled on.
When the daylight came, he did not feel this way; the terrible sadness did not clutch at his heart. The daylight seemed to wash away all of his fears and make him ready once more for whatever the world planned to throw at him.
But alas! Each day had to end, and the sun sank with his heart. The bright hues of the sunset; the pinks, the reds, and the oranges seemed only a last ditch attempt to cling on to hope before it disappeared completely.
His companions; all so brave, all so sure and ready to hand over their lives, they slept soundly through the nights. A king of men, an Elven prince, a Dwarf lord, a lord of Gondor, and a Wizard of great renown and many names throughout the world.
It was such a terrible twist of fate that he should be here, tangled in a conflict that was so far above his head. These people were ready to fight; until a short while ago he had never held a weapon short of waving a pitchfork at some neighbourhood children on his land.
The fate of the world was a heavy price for failure.
It lay around him. It seemed to be woven into every particle of the darkness that surrounded him. It was in his very soul at times like this.
The ring haunted his thoughts. It could bring the death and destruction of them all, or it could save them in its destruction. He did not like to be near it, yet he needed to be near it at the same time.
There were so many paths in this world, and any path was dangerous to walk. The only way to come out on the other side was to hold true to everything you believed in, yet here, he was finding it difficult to even believe completely in his home in the Shire.
The moon appeared in the dark sky.
He stared up at it with a smile creeping across his face. The moon! The fair lady of the night! She had swept from behind a cloud to provide him with light in this, his darkest and loneliest hour.
In her subtle beauty, he was awed by her. As he gazed at her, more clouds were swept away and stars surrounded her, like a silver mantle.
He was again reminded of home, but he was reminded of how wonderful his return there would be and how he would do anything to protect the beauty of that haven on Arda.
The only place on Arda that he could rate anywhere near the beauty of his home was Rivendell and even that did not surpass it in his reckoning.
With this strength renewed, sleep came upon him and once, and from then on, he slept soundly with the moon watching over him.
Well hope you enjoyed. If you did, review! If you didn't, review! Reviews make me a happy person. Free virtual hugs and fairy cakes to all reviewers!
Dark Diamond