Chapter Twenty Four: In Which Food is Discussed
Random Quote: "Because while baseball, strippers, and guns can help, the only thing that can really heal a broken heart is time." ~How I Met Your Mother
Adonnenniel woke up to the smell of a forest. It was a very distinct smell that she had come to recognize during her time in Middle Earth. It smelled like wood, grass, dirt, and what sunlight would smell like if it had a scent. This forest, however, carried a richer and stronger smell. She opened her eyes slowly, and for a moment was not quite sure where she was. She looked around frantically, and then let out a shrill scream.
She was at least fifty feet up in the air, and she was moving. And even worse, it was nighttime so she couldn't see squat.
"Adonnenniel?" asked a tired voice that she recognized as Merry's. "You woke me. What's the matter?"
Adonnenniel whirled around, or at least as much as you can whirl while seated in an Ent, and saw someone sitting next to her. Everything that had happened yesterday came back in a rush, and Adonnenniel chuckled. "I'm fine. I just woke up and forgot we were in a walking tree." Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark, and she could make out Merry's small form sitting beside her.
"Don't let Treebeard hear you call him a 'walking tree'," he suggested wisely.
"Good idea. He was pretty freaky about the whole tree verses Ent distinction." Adonnenniel leaned back against the Ent's trunk. "Say, where's Pippin? Is he still asleep?"
Merry grinned. "Not anymore. I think we woke him up."
"Merry?" said Pippin, emerging from the other side of the trunk, "Is that you? I just had the strangest dream."
"What was your dream about?" Merry asked.
"I dreamed of mushrooms." A dreamy look crossed over Pippin's face. "They were beautiful, grand, delicious mushrooms. Even larger than those at farmer Maggot's farm."
Merry joined Pippin in his whole dreamy look thing. They both stared off into the distance, clearly envisioning the said food.
"I take it you guys like mushrooms at lot," Adonnenniel noted.
"Don't you?" said Merry, sounding surprised.
"Of course! Sautéed mushrooms smeared with sage leaves and butter is the best. They're pretty good in omelets, too."
"Omelets?" Pippin chirped.
"You know…Like, eggs that you cook half way and then flip. They're great with mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, cheese, and even spinach."
"What about with meat?" Merry asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Adonnenniel shuddered. "Maybe for some people, but not for me. I'm a vegetarian."
Pippin looked confused. "What is a vegetarian?"
Adonnenniel laughed. "What's with the Spanish Inquisition on food, guys?"
Two very confused hobbits stared at her. "Errr…Never mind," she said. "A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat. Just vegetables, fruits, and grains."
Now she had two awe struck hobbits staring at her. "How do you survive?" Pippin said in a whisper.
"That is quite unnatural," Merry added.
"Hey, think what you want, but meat seriously grosses me out. I refuse to eat anything that was once living."
"But technically plants are living," Merry pointed out. "They grow."
"Okay, you got me there," she admitted, "But my mantra is this: Anything with a face will not go in my mouth. Period."
Pippin still looked shell shocked. "Not eating meat must be difficult."
"Naaah," Adonnenniel said dismissively. "After the first month or so, it's really easy. I don't even miss it anymore, or really remember what it tastes like even. I bet you guys could do it if you tried."
Their conversation was cut short by a deep, rumbling noise.
"Hi, Treebeard," said Adonnenniel cheerfully. "How are you this morning?"
She heard the rumbling noise again, and this time it was followed by Treebeard's deep voice. "I fare grandly, little human."
"Yes!" Adonnenniel said excitedly. "You called me a human! We've finally moved past the Orc thing. Now we're getting somewhere. You know what? I feel like we started off on the wrong foot, with the whole picking me up and nearly squeezing me to death thing. You wanna start over?"
Treebeard spoke exasperatingly slow. "You…speak…oddly," he rumbled. Merry and Pippin chuckled at this.
"Nice to meet you to," Adonnenniel huffed. "But it's fine. I get that an awful lot here. I'm used to it. My name is Adonnenniel, by the way."
"Adoneneel?" Treebeard stumbled over the word. "This name falls strangely on my tongue."
"Oh, that's fine, a lot of people have issues with it. Like, you should've seen my teachers and friends in grade school trying to pronounce it. I guess if you want, then you can just call me…Umm…Enni." She hadn't used the nickname in a while, but in elementary school when even she could not pronounce her own name, she had used it. After about fifth grade it had worn off, as her classmates became more…pronounciationally…skilled.
"Enni…" Treebeard mused. "A good name," he decided.
"Might I ask where we're going, Treebeard?" Merry interjected.
"I am taking you to my home, wherein you shall be safe as Gandalf so instructed."
"Oh, right. Gandalf." Adonnenniel rolled her eyes. "Tell him thanks for me the next time you see him. He just about gave me a heart attack with his whole 'I'm dead but not really like Jesus' act, and his whole 'Now I'm gonna be unnecessarily theatrical with my white shinyness and scare the beejezus out of people' thing . It was pretty freaky."
"She means when Gandalf reappeared to us in the forest earlier," Pippin translated. "How much further is it to your home?"
"Don't be hasty…little hobbit. You might call it far, perhaps. My home lies deep in the forest…Near the roots of the mountain."
A moment of silence fell over them, in which Adonnenniel contemplated whether Treebeard was being metaphorical or not when he said 'roots of the mountain'. How do mountains have roots? she thought. She mulled over this puzzle for some time, but could not figure it out. Her musings were cut short when a very strange sound issued from Treebeard.
Adonnenniel was momentarily stupefied at the sound, but then she realized that he was singing. Singing! She listened carefully, trying to decipher his very unusual voice. After a moment, she could make out words amidst Treebeard's rumbling, and they lulled her into a sort of dull enchantment.
"O rowen mine, I saw you shine upon a summer's day. Upon your head, how golden-red, the crown you bore aloft."
The melody seemed to linger in the air even after he stopped singing. "Such a beautiful verse," Treebeard said slowly.
"Yes, it was," Adonnenniel agreed. At first, his voice had seemed too alien and harsh to sound pleasant, but gradually it had begun to sound sonorous and beautiful, kind of like an organ but deeper. A sudden wave of exhaustion hit her, and Adonnenniel yawned. She glanced over at Merry and Pippin, and saw that they were likewise looking suddenly tired. Their eyelids drooped, and they leaned against Treebeard's wide trunk.
"I believe you will enjoy this next one, too. It is one of my own compositions." Treebeard began singing again, and Adonnenniel fought her exhaustion so as to hear his voice again. He repeated the same verse several times, and on the third time, Adonnenniel found herself softly humming along. The song managed to get stuck in her head for the rest of night.
"Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold. When woodland halls are green and cool and the wind is in the west, come back to me, come back to me, and say my land is best."
Adonnenniel felt her eyelids droop as another wave of exhaustion hit her. She glanced over at Merry and Pippin, and saw that they were already asleep. She crossed her arms, leaned back into the tree (sorry, the Ent), and began slowly drifting off. Just before she fell asleep, she heard Treebeard speak. His words sent a shiver up her spine, and left an eerie feeling in the air.
"Sleep, little ones. Heed no nightly noise. Sleep till morning light. I have business in the forest. There are many to call. Many that must come. The Shadow lies on Fangorn. The withering of all woods is drawing near..."
"Estela, wake up," said a quiet voice. "We have reached Rohan."
Estela opened her eyes. The sun shone brightly in the sky, a large orb against a backdrop of purest blue. In front of them stretched a small town on a hill, dotted with sporadically laid houses with wooden chimneys emitting smoke. Atop the hill stood a grand palace.
"Are you awake?" Legolas asked once more.
"Yes," she said. Her voice sounded thick and heavy with sleep. She willed herself to become more alert. She dimly remembered this part in the story, and knew that a minor fight was nearing.
"You would find more cheer in a graveyard," Gimli grunted as they rode through the village. Estela looked around, and saw that it was true. The poverty and general listlessness of the place was overwhelming.
As they neared the palace, Estela saw Aragorn and Gandalf eyeing each other warily. "Do not expect welcome here," Gandalf muttered. When they reached the steps of the palace, the group dismounted their horses and walked up the steps. A group of guards emerged from the palace doors.
"I cannot allow you before the King so armed," the leader told them, sounding regretful. "By order of…Grima Wormtongue," he said with disdain.
Estela warily handed over the dagger Legolas had lent her, and watched as the others gave up their weapons in a similar fashion. As they entered the palace, she stayed close to Legolas. She felt somewhat vulnerable without having any sort of weapon at her side.
"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Theoden King," Gandalf said fiercely.
"He is not welcome," Grima whispered silkily to the King.
"Be silent," Gandalf said, lifting his staff threateningly. Estela heard some commotion from either side of the hall, and looked around. A menacing group of armed men had entered the scene, and were surrounding them on both sides. She nudged Legolas, and motioned towards the men. He nodded, looking grim.
"His staff!" Grima exclaimed. "I told you to take the wizard's staff!" With that, a group of the guards disbanded from either side of the room and moved to attack Gandalf.
"Stay behind me," Legolas said to Estela, who was more than happy to oblige. She had no experience whatsoever in combat devoid of weapons.
As the men attacked them, she restrained herself from getting involved, knowing she would only distract the others. Within mere minutes, the hall lay strewn with the bodies of men. For a moment Estela was horrified, wondering if they had actually killed all of those people. But then she saw one of them stir faintly, and breathed a faint sigh of relief.
She was staring at the waking man, watching his eyes flicker open and then tentatively trying to stand, and that was when it happened. In her peripherals, she saw a sudden flash of silver split the air, and before she could react, a sharp pain erupted in the back of her head. Gasping, Estela raised a hand to her head and felt warm liquid seeping down her fingers. Her body felt suddenly detached, and her knees buckled. She heard someone shout her name, their voice muffled and distorted. And then darkness fell over her.
Coming Up Next!
-Sorry, no spoilers this time!
Another Author's Note: I recently started watching How I Met Your Mother. It's pretty funny. Also started watching Downtown Abbey. Love it :D