"Gandalf..?" I whispered quietly. Everything seemed to be fake at this stage. My whole life. I felt like I would wake up and it would all be a dream. Gandalf had fallen to his death. How was he here? Was he real.. or was he just an apparition? He smiled gently at the three of us, as we lay there completely gobsmacked. "Gandalf you died.."I said, being the only one able to speak, though still in a state of shock. "I have come back to you" he said. "Oh Gandalf!" we all exclaimed, snapping out of our shock and rushing into his arms. He chuckled gently, then patted each of our backs, as we looked up at him with happiness. I felt the tears running down my pale cheeks. "Gandalf I'm so happy to see you" I grinned, wiping my eyes. "I'm very happy to see you too..Layla Baggins" he smiled. When he mentioned the name Baggins, a flashback of my childhood came into my mind. The day I first met Frodo and Papa and the day I first spoke...

The orphanage door opened to reveal a man, who looked quite old. "Hello" he whispered, as he clutched my hand in his. I looked away from him shyly. "What is your name sweetie?" he asked. I shook my head, refusing to answer. "Her name is Layla.. she is mute..I'm sorry I forgot to mention this in my letter Mr Baggins" she apologized. "That's quite alright, we'll snap that outta her isn't that right Frodo?" he chuckled, turning to a little boy I hadn't noticed. He nodded his head, his brown curly hair bobbing slightly. His huge blue eyes met mine, and I smiled a little. He smiled happily too. "Well I'll take it you'll be taking her then Mr Baggins".

After a few hours, Papa was allowed to take me home. I didn't speak to them, I just sat in my room all day. One day though, about a week after I joined the family, Frodo had enough. He came into my room and gave me some of his dolls, which he played with with me for an hour. Then he brought me outside to see Sam. "Hello there miss!" he smiled widely. When I didn't reply he frowned slightly. "I'm sorry Sam she doesn't speak" sighed Frodo. "Why not?" asked Sam confused. Frodo looked to me and I nodded. "According to the lady at the orphanage, her parents were brutally murdered in front of her by Orcs". I felt my heart break. He didn't have to word it like that. I began to cry and rushed back to Papa's house. I burst through the door, and rushed into the kitchen. "Papa!" I yelled. Papa froze when I spoke. So did I. "Layla darling..did you just speak?" he asked me.I nodded, still in absolute shock. "Oh Layla!" he exclaimed happily, rushing over and hugging me tightly. "Papa will take care of you, there's no need to be worried..understand?". "Yes, Papa" I said. Then I smiled. I actually smiled a genuine smile. Frodo and Sam rushed in after that. "What happened!? Is she okay Bilbo?" Frodo asked. "Yeah..I'm fine"I replied. His eyes widened as did Sam's. "SAM! YOU GOT HER TO SPEAK!" exclaimed Frodo, patting him on the back, then pulling me into a tight hug. "I promise I will always take care of you..always"he whispered.

Frodo would have been delighted to see Gandalf alive and well. I wished he was here to protect me..but now that was left up to Pippin..and perhaps Merry. Frodo was like the real big brother I never had. Well he was basically my big brother...just not by blood. "Gandalf we're delighted to see you!" said Pippin. We all gently pulled ourselves away. "I hate to be leaving so soon, but I shall leave you in the safe hands of Treebeard..he shall look after you..won't you treebeard?" he asked the Ent. Treebeard replied with an "I promise". Gandalf smiled slightly, then was off to find Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.

Two days later ~

"I told Gandalf I would keep you safe..and safe is where I'll keep you" said treebeard as we walked along. I was looking around, mesmerized by the beauty of the forest. I looked down to see Pippin looking up at me. I smiled at him, my hair blowing gently in the breeze. "This place is so beautiful..I am mesmerized by it" I said, looking around again. "You are mesmerized by the beauty of the forest...but I am mesmerized by your beauty" said Pippin. I looked down at him, my mouth open slightly. He began to climb up the Ent, and kissed my lips passionately. We hadn't kissed in ages, so it felt nice to have his lips on mine once again. Merry cleared his throat and Pippin laughed, then pulled me into him so we could cuddle. "The trees have grown wild and dangerous. Anger festers in their hearts. They will harm you if they can. There are too few of us now. Too few of us Ents left to manage them" continued tree beard. does this Ent ever shut up?

A few days later, I was feeling sicker than ever. Had i made the correct choice becoming pregnant? It was far too dangerous for me. "We Ents have not troubled...about the wars of men and wizards..for a very long time. But now, something is about to happen...that has not happened for an age. Entmoot". "What is that?" I asked. "Tis a gathering" he announced. "A gathering of what?"Asked merry. We all looked around, seeing many Ents circle us. I Could not even listen, i was far too fascinated. Then tree beards voice finally snapped me back to reality "now we must decide if the Ents..will go to war".

Hours later. I sat bored under a tree. I was getting extremely tired and was feeling so sick. The ents were speaking. tree beard finally came over, and pippin called for Merry. merry had become rather excited. He really thought the Ents should fight. We gathered around, me lazily getting up from under the tree. "We have just agreed." Said tree beard, drifting off. We stayed silent for a moment,then merry spoke"
"yes?".
His eyes fluttered open and he continued "I have told your names to the Entmoot, and we have agreed, you are not orcs" he smiled. "Well that's good news"said Pippin, then when he looked at Merry's angry expression, his smile faded. " and what about Saruman? Have you come to a decision about him?" Asked merry. "Now don't be hasty, master Meriadoc".
"Hasty?" Oh no, Merry was getting so angry "Our friends are out there, they need our help they cannot fight this war on their own!" "War? Yes. It affects us all. But you must understand, young Hobbit...it takes a long time to say anything i. Old entish..and we never say anything, unless it is worth taking a long time to say". "The ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done". "How can that be your decision!?" Merry was furious now. "This is not our war" continued Tree beard. "But you're part of this world!" He yelled "aren't you!?". The ents stared at us. "You must help, please! You must do something!" He then pleaded. " you are young and brave, master Merry..But your part in this tale is over..go back to your home" said tree beard.

A few minutes later, Merry gave up. He wandered over to where his jacket lay and placed it around his shoulders. Pippin and I gave him a few minutes to calm down, then slowly approached him. While we were giving Merry time to calm down, we sat under a tree. "Pip, maybe tree beard is right, i mean we're going to have a baby. This environment is not safe for it..try and convince merry to go home". "I agree with you. Ill try" he smiled, kissing my forehead.
Pippin approached him then, and I stayed by the tree. "Maybe Tree beard is right..we don't belong here Merry,it's too big for us..what can we do in the end?". Merry seemed to ignore him."We've got the Shire. Maybe we should go home" continued Pippin. "The fires of Isengard will spread.. and the woods of tuckborough and Buckland will burn "Merry finally said.
"And.." said Pippin, and Merry turned to look at him finally. "And all that was once green and good in this world will be gone.." Merry said, then grabbed Pippin's shoulders "there won't be a Shire Pippin". He walked off in my direction, giving me a small nod, then walked past. Pippin turned and looked at me, a look of failure in his eyes. Maybe Merry was right. The fires of Isengard would definitely spread..and they would try and attack the Shire. We wouldn't have a home then, and all we loved and cared for would sink.

A few minutes later, Tree beard approached us. He told us he was bringing us somewhere. Pippin took my hand and helped me up from under the tree I lay against. I was feeling ill once again. Merry reluctantly climbed up too. He was still being silent, and I felt bad for him. He really wanted to fight. He was disappointed in himself that he had not succeeded in convincing Tree beard it was also his fight. As Tree beard began to walk, he spoke to us saying "I will leave you on the western borders of the forest. You can make your way north to your homeland from there". "Wait! stop! stop!" Pippin suddenly yelled. Tree beard paused. "Turn around, take us South" he said. "South? but that will lead you past Isengard" Tree beard exclaimed. "Yes. Exactly. If we go South, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed" said Pippin "the closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm..it's the last thing he'll expect". "hmm..that doesn't make sense to me..but then, you are very small" said Tree beard "South it is then, hold on little Shirelings, I've always liked going South, it always feels like going downhill". "Are you mad?" I asked Pippin. "We'll be caught!" said Merry. "No we won't" said Pippin "not this time".

A few hours later, Tree beard still droned on. "And those little family of field mice that climb up me sometimes and tickle me awfully..they're always trying to get somewhere where they.." he was cut off by the awful sight of the trees cut down. "Many of these trees were my friends.."he said. Was this Pippin's plan? To bring him here and he would agree to join the war?
"Creatures I had known, from nut to acorn..". "I'm sorry Tree beard" said Pippin. "They had voices of their own...Saruman! A Wizard should know better!" he exclaimed He suddenly roared. A roar that could be heard all over the forest. He said his business was with Isengard tonight, and many Ents gathered around. They were prepared to fight!

As we edged closer and closer to Isengard, my heart was leaping in my chest. We fought and fought, and in the end we got our victory.