Title: The Choices of Master Meriadoc
Author: Megan (liptonrm@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Hobbits are my inspiration, not my property. The characters and
themes discussed in this work were created by the esteemed Prof. Tolkien and
are being used with the deepest respect and love.
Summary: At Bilbo's infamous Eleventy-first Birthday Party, Meriadoc Brandybuck
comes to his own conclusions.
Dedication: To Marigold, without your challenge I never
would have been inspired to explore this particular idea.
Author's Note: This story is not the one I was going to write. Frankly, Merry
took over the process and I've been desperately trying to keep up ever since.
Those Brandybucks, much too intelligent for my own good;-).
A/N: Everything in italics is memory/flashback.
Meriadoc Brandybuck was nobody's fool. The moment that dear, old Cousin Bilbo
disappeared in a flash and a bang Merry knew that something more was going on
then just another one of Mad Baggins' tricks. The lack both of surprise and
shock mirrored on Cousin Frodo's face only confirmed this suspicion. Frodo was
not, after all, devoid of emotion and the sudden loss of his guardian,
benefactor, and dear relative was bound to cause more reaction then merely a
calm sip of wine. Though Frodo's face showed no surprise, it did wear a
melancholy little smile that, when he noticed it, drove a spike of loss through
Merry's heart. Abruptly he knew that he would most probably not be seeing Bilbo
ever again, an idea that seemed absolutely unimaginable. Even though Merry had
sometimes thought Bilbo was half ready to jump through the door and run down
the road at a moment's notice, it had never seemed remotely possible that the
eccentric hobbit would actually do so. Merry realized, with a start, that he
was going to desperately miss the old fool.
"And that's Lake Town, isn't it, Cousin Bilbo?" Merry answered with a smug
grin, he knew he was correct, he tended to always be correct. His finger
unerringly pointed at a large-ish dot settled snuggly between the rather large
lake and the solitary mountain expertly rendered on an exquisite example of the
map-maker's art. The map was mottled with both the muted rays of sunlight that
shone into the shadowed smial and with the accumulated wear of many years of
use and love.
"Exactly, my lad." Bilbo responded with an indulgent smile. It was difficult to
dislike the young Brandybuck, as Bilbo had found to his frequent amusement. The
lad's unique combination of Brandybuck cunning and Tookish inquisitiveness had
been known to send more then one relative, and even his own dear parents, into
near conniptions at times. It was no secret that Bilbo himself was known to
illicit the same types of reactions from the esteemed members of his extended
family and at times Bilbo wasn't quite sure whether he was fond of Merry for
the lad's sake alone, or whether that fondness was heavily influenced by his
personal amusement at the ordered chaos he frequently left in his young wake.
"Cousin Bilbo, could you tell me about how you arrived in Lake Town, again?
Please?" The lad's eager request broke through Bilbo's reverie and with a shrug
of his shoulders he pulled himself out of his internal meanderings. With a grin
and a wink Bilbo looked down at his young relative, a plot quickly forming in
his own clever mind.
"I've a much better idea, Master Meriadoc." Bilbo replied, "What do you say to
going down to the Water and re-enacting that auspicious chapter of my
illustrious adventure with me?"
Bilbo couldn't help laughing at the mischievous twinkle that appeared in the
lad's eyes and the clever smile that curved his lips in excitement and
approbation. That lad was going to astound the Shire one day, of that Bilbo was
absolutely certain.
An image of Bilbo, standing in the doorway at Bag End, framed by the verdant
hill rising behind him, grinning in either welcome or farewell, passed quickly
through Merry's mind. With a smile and a silent toast Merry drunk old Bilbo's
health and wished him the best on his journey. The road was long, as both Bilbo
and Frodo delighted in singing, and if there was anyone who could conquer it at
his advanced age it would be Bilbo Baggins.
The grin passed and Merry sobered rapidly as he was struck by a terrifying
thought. Frodo shared much more with Bilbo then simply a family name and a love
of the elvish language. Frodo was more like Bilbo then most sons were like
their fathers and it would not be inconceivable at all for Frodo to quietly
follow Bilbo on his journey. Merry suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe, for
if Bilbo's disappearance was unimaginable then Frodo's would be absolutely
impossible. Frodo had been a part of Merry's life for as long as there had been
a Meriadoc to plague the lanes of the Shire, and Merry was not eager at all to
discover what a life without Frodo would be like. It didn't bear contemplating.
"Oh Frodo, you should have seen the look on old Fatty's face when he noticed
the mess that 'someone' had made of his dear, impossible kitchen. I was nearly
certain that, if I had tapped his head at that very moment, it would have
popped just exactly like an over-ripe tomato. I'm not quite certain how I kept
a straight face, for every time I looked at Estella I was certain that I was
simply going to die from all of the laughter I was holding in. It was
brilliant, absolutely brilliant." Merry was on the edge of tears, his laughter
ringing through the copse. He had already fallen over onto the ground and he
was staring up at the lush foliage above them, completely overcome by the
hilarity of the memory.
Frodo was sitting beside him, trying very hard not to allow his own amusement
at the recounted situation to show on his face. He could well imagine Fatty's
consternation at Merry's well-executed prank. There were few things that
flustered the dear hobbit more then an attack on his perfectly ordered kitchen.
"Now Merry," Frodo began, desperately hoping that he could retain the 'I am
your responsible elder cousin and you must listen to my advice' tone of voice
that he was sure he was employing, "it is rather reprehensible that you talked
Estella into such an attack on her brother. You are already completely
hopeless, and I don't want you to go about corrupting the lass."
"What!?" Merry squawked in response, tears of laughter still running down his
face, making his eyes shine brilliantly. "Me corrupt her? I believe the girl
was corrupt the moment she took her first breath! The whole idea was
practically her idea in the first place!"
"That is not the point, Meriadoc." Frodo rebutted, but was not allowed to
finish his remonstrance as Merry had already taken ahold of his side of the
argument and had no yett had his full say in the matter.
"And another thing, as if you have any right to chastise me for a harmless,
good-natured prank. I have heard more stories about the incorrigible Frodo
Baggins then any hobbit should have to endure. You're still that 'infamous
Frodo Baggins' in Brandybuck Hall and if you have the nerve to try and tell
me." Merry trailed off as he noticed the look in Frodo's eyes. He had seen that
look before, that impossible, 'I want to fall over laughing but I can't because
I am supposed to be setting an example for impressionable, young hobbits' look
that Merry had only ever seen him employ when trying to keep Pippin in line
during his visits to Bag End.
"Why Frodo, you're laughing at me!" Merry observed, his expression changing
from self-righteous indignation to glowing self-commendation.
"I most certainly am not!" Frodo countered, desperately trying to draw around
himself an illusion of dignity. It wasn't working, Frodo could already tell
that he was losing this battle, the hilarity in Merry's eyes was pulling him
down from his moral height.
"You most certainly are!" Merry responded with a knowing smirk. "You think my
prank on Fatty was as brilliant as it most obviously was, don't you?" Merry
slowly edged his way closer to his cousin. He was absolutely confident of his
eventual victory as he saw Frodo's face grow redder and redder with his valiant
attempt to suppress the laughter that was nearly ready to bubble over. His eyes
were becoming shinier and shinier with tears and, if Merry was correct in his
observation, and he was positive that he was correct, that look on Frodo's face
came not from indigestion but from a desperate attempt to retain his dignity as
the older and wiser cousin. "Really, you should have seen the look on Fatty's
face." Merry continued, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "An
over-ripe tomato simply doesn't do it justice, and the way his eyes bugged out,
it wasn't to be believed."
Frodo couldn't hold it in any longer. He erupted in laughter, the force of the
blow sent him flying onto his back, his whole body convulsing in a fit of
hilarity. Merry smiled in triumph and then he too was pulled under into a
shared moment of complete and reckless abandon. They lay side by side under the
leafy boughs, sending their combined laughter into the atmosphere around them.
"Oh Frodo." Merry gasped as their laughter wound down. He turned over and
wrapped his cousin in a back-breaking embrace. "Never, ever change."
Merry knew Frodo would one day leave, it was a truth that, if he were being
completely honest with himself, he had always known. With a grim and sober
determination, two characteristics many who knew him would deny he could ever possess,
Meriadoc Brandybuck, son of Saradoc, resolved that when Frodo left he would not
leave alone.
*******
"It was generally agreed
that the joke was in very bad taste, and more food and drink were needed to
cure the guests of shock and annoyance. 'He's mad, I always said so,' was probably the most popular
comment. Even the Tooks (with a few exceptions) thought Bilbo's behaviour was
absurd. For the moment most of them took it for granted that his disappearance
was nothing more than a ridiculous prank.
But old Rory Brandybuck was not so sure. Neither age nor an enormous dinner had
clouded his wits, and he said to his daughter-in-law, Esmeralda: 'There's
something fishy in this, my dear! I believe that mad Baggins is off again.
Silly old fool. But why worry? He hasn't taken the vittles with him.'"
A Long-Expected Party The Lord of the Rings p. 30