Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Well, um. okay, no. I don't own anything.
No operas, no coffee shops in downtown Colorado Springs, no camps, no
nothing. And if the owner of Pikes Perk reads this, I do NOT really do
that. Um. Really.
A/N: Yeah, I'm back. Finally writing again. *silence* Everyone can stop clapping wildly.
*silence continues*
*sigh* Nevermind. Anyway, y'all were wondering how the plot was going to continue.
Good question- I admit I had no idea how to continue. Were Sarah and Ryan going with the Fellowship, or what? So I had to go back and look at the way I've developed the characters. and it just sort of popped into my head! (Thank you, Ian my darling!) Frodo was never supposed to fall in love- so how does it change the way he acts now that he has??? Chapter 10, ladies and gents. I hope you enjoy- I put in more hobbitness, just for you!
10
The Fellowship would be leaving soon. Very soon. Sarah and Ryan felt like every second was part of an hourglass, counting down to when they might never see their friends again. And Narin had been closed off for weeks, while Elrond tried to heal her mind. Meanwhile, the twins had few moments when they were apart from the hobbits, and not a second apart from each other. Neither said it aloud, but they were feverishly trying to make up for all their years alone.
Sarah trailed her hand along the railing as they descended yet another random staircase. "I miss home. Thinking of Amanda reminded me of everything else."
"I know what you mean." Ryan followed close behind, occasionally mouthing the words to a song the elves were singing, but listening to his sister at the same time.
"Remember sneaking up on the roof of Pikes Perk and watching downtown city life while the sun set over the mountains?"
"Yeah. Remember concerts in the park?"
"Of course! Remember Eagle Lake?"
"Yep. How could I forget our sunrise hikes up the hill to the cross? Hey- do you remember how to drive a car?"
Ryan paused for a moment, then laughed in amazement. "No. I don't. Isn't that weird? Then again, its not really a skill we use every day around here."
Sarah giggled in agreement. Of course, she hadn't gotten her license anyway, before they landed in pre-car times. "But I bet I could outride anyone from back home on Atriedes!"
"I bet you could." Ryan stared into the distance for a second, remembering. A small smile crossed his face, but his brow furrowed slightly, sadly. "Remember when Amanda was in Les Mis? That was great."
"Yeah." Sarah came to a bench in a small courtyard. She sat down pensively. "On my own." she began, then looked up at Ryan. He sat obediently to listen. "And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near, and I can make
Believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night when everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head.
On my own
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me-"
Ryan touched her arm. "You sing it so sadly," he said softly.
"I miss my big sister, Ry." She almost didn't say it, but she let herself go on hesitantly. "And I'm tired. Very tired." She lay her head in his lap, and he stroked her hair just like dad used to do.
"Well, then, silly, what do you think you should do? Start a song- and-dance routine? You should go take a nap, and stop letting me keep you up!" He patted her shoulder. Of course, in his fake joviality, Ryan went too far.
"Who are you calling silly, Silent Bob? And I'm hardly going to sleep at ten o'clock in the morning! I meant tired emotionally! And I'll GIVE you a song-and-dance routine." she hopped up. Ryan rolled his eyes. He wondered what show she would pick from. Sarah had been in many musicals back in their 'other life', and she could dance well, too. But unfortunately for Ryan, there was no ensemble to drown out Sarah's belting.
She placed one hand on her hip and one high in the air, fingers spread wide. She tilted her nose high into the air and turned her head to the side in a melodramatic snoot. He waited.
She held her pose for about ten seconds, then gritted her teeth and whispered without moving, "Ryaaaaaaaan!"
"Okay, okay. Fine. .One, two, three, four-"
And with that count off, she began slowly and dramatically,
"The butcher. the baker.. the grocer. the clerk. are secretly unhappy men, because. The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk. get paid for what they do but no applause. They'd gladly bid their dreary jobs goodbye. for anything theatrical and why?"
She had gone through several sweeping moves, then dashed around the room, pretending to find her place on stage. During one of the actual performances, she had fallen off the stage in the darkness. The memory came up for just a split second before she started.
"Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's NO business like SHOW business like NO business I know! Everything about it is appealing! Everything the traffic will allow! Nowhere can you get that happy feeling, when you are stealing, that extra bow! There's no business like show business like no business I know! Even with a turkey that you know will fold, you may be stranded out in the cold. Still you wouldn't trade it for a sack of gold, LET'S GO ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!!!!"
By now, Sarah was nearly sweating with exertion from the wide dance movements which she was exaggerating anyway, along with almost shouting the song. She was breathing heavily, about to spring into the next verse, when she heard clapping.
All four hobbits came bounding into the courtyard, and shouting and cheering.
"That was amazing! I have no idea what any of it meant, but that was grand!" Frodo cried, laughing. "You know, Sarah," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "you sing like a boy."
Sarah stopped short. "Well, yeah, I suppose that's right. You're used to hearing girls sing with soft, melodic voices. Sorry!"
"Oh, believe me, we enjoyed it anyway! And we though you were still sleeping! I shall make sure to check twice when I walk by the door to see if you are up yet!" Merry laughed.
"What's show business? And why would you fold a turkey?" Ryan and Sarah burst out laughing while the hobbits giggled unknowingly. Pippin was undoubtedly used to songs that made sense, or told stories, but they didn't care. It was enough for them to see that Sarah was in higher spirits.
"Come play a game with us, Sarah! These elves are so stuffy because of the Ring business, none of them will play with us! And Ryan can come too if he promises not to win!" Pippin skipped around the bench, finally landing right next to Sarah. She giggled and grabbed his hand. As he began to skip away, Sarah latched onto Merry with her other hand. He grabbed Frodo, who grabbed Sam, who grabbed Ryan. The chain trailed out of the courtyard and into the forests of Rivendell, making as much noise as possible.
Pippin stopped suddenly, and turned to face the competitors. "Tip anyone from the other team, and try to get the handkerchief first. Frodo and Ryan are with me, Merry has Sarah and Sam. Merry's team starts north, mine starts south. Go!"
The hobbits scattered, but Sarah and Ryan just sort of stood there. "Wait- uh- WHAT?"
"Come on, Sarah!" Merry cried. So she followed him, giving Ryan a wink as she dashed off. When she glanced back a second later, he was gone as well.
Let the games begin, she thought mischievously.
Pippin's game was simple- it was sort of a version of hide-and-seek plus capture-the-flag, with a small, bright yellow handkerchief. Pippin hid the handkerchief in the branches of a tree where everyone could see it, then counted off. 'Tipping' apparently meant getting another person's head to touch the ground, any way possible. Sarah already had an advantage- Ryan was more of a track runner, while Sarah had always liked hockey.
Then again, Pippin seemed to know who was good at his game and who wasn't. Merry and Sam couldn't tip a cow if they wanted to, let alone another person. But Sarah was very competitive, and focusing on anything that took her mind off of life's troubles was a blessing.
"All right. Who here can run very fast?"
The two hobbits looked at each other. Merry raised his hand, finally. "I'm faster than Sam, at least."
"Only because you're older," Sam mumbled.
"Okay, okay. Merry, tell me about how Frodo and Pippin play."
"Well, Frodo is the best because he can tip really really well. You won't hear a thing and then before you know it, he's on top of you and your head is touching the ground! But he can only do it if he can sneak up on you. If you see him, he'll run away quick, and circle around until you aren't looking. While he does that, Pippin runs right past and climbs up to get the handkerchief. I suppose he'll have Ryan running, too."
Sarah grinned. She had a plan, of course. She took games like this very, very seriously.
"Merry, go after Ryan. He's fast but he won't be able to hide where he is. And he can't wrestle for beans. Once you get him, go after Pippin. Sam, you sneak your way up to the handkerchief, but don't go for it until I give you the signal. I'll get Frodo- I'm pretty sneaky myself!"
At that moment, Pippin came bounding through the trees. "Are you ready yet? We've been waiting!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go, shortstack." She grinned competitively.
The game began.
***
Three pulled ears, a split lip, and a sprained thumb later, Sarah was up in a tree waiting for Frodo. From the shouts across the forest she could tell that Merry and Ryan were still in the heat of battle, and a whistle told her that Sam was in place. She was guessing that Frodo would attack at the last possible moment, to give Pippin more of a chance. The only question was, who would go for the handkerchief first?
After three more minutes, the scuffling in the distance stopped, and an eerie silence fell over the area. Just go for it, Pippin. Feel safe and secure. Frodo will back you up. Just go for it. she thought mischeviously. Go for it!
Then a leaf fell from a tree near hers, and there was no breeze. Sarah looked at the branches, and realized they crossed with the handkerchief tree. Frodo was going to get there first!
Sarah let out an earsplitting whistle, and Sam leapt from the brush below and scrambled up the tree. Pippin dashed from the other side and almost pulled him down, but Sam was out of reach. Then Frodo swung down and peeled Sam off of the trunk with a loud shout. Both landed in the soft brush, and Sarah leapt down just in time to stop Pippin.
A huge tussle ensued, until Sarah finally couldn't tell who she was pinning down, who was pulling her legs out from under her, and who was grunting in pain. Oh, wait- that was her.
"Get- off- of- me- you- little-"
"OW!"
"AUGH!"
"PIPPIN, GO!"
"I can't, Frodo- she's laying in my leg!"
"SARAH!"
"SAM, WHA- OW!"
"Ahem."
It took her a moment to realize that no one on the ground had just cleared their throat.
"Ahem. Hey, everyone." They all froze. Sarah brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked up. Ryan was standing over them, grinning and waving a little yellow handkerchief.
"Wait- where's Merry?" Sarah pulled herself to her feet.
Ryan tossed the handkerchief at the rest of the hobbits and sauntered past Sarah, murmuring as he went, "I told him you don't like it when boys fight, so he backed off." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You do funny things to these hobbits, Sarah."
Sarah turned and watched him as he left. After a moment, she let herself think, Merry really did that for me?
And she let a tiny smile cross her face.
***
The parting was difficult- almost unbearable. Ryan watched how much it hurt Sarah, and he almost couldn't bear it. That, plus the parting of the Fellowship- Aragorn in particular- broke Ryan down. They weren't going with them; he had to accept it! But something inside him was screaming that they were making a huge mistake.
He wouldn't let himself think about it. The strain and the mystery surrounding their sister, not knowing what to do, losing the Fellowship (for it truly did feel like a loss), it all weighed on the hearts of the twins. Ryan didn't even want to think about what he would do if he was in love with one of them, like Sarah obviously was. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't realized it yet- Sarah was like that.
But it must have hurt her even more than it hurt him, to watch them go. Ryan, however, had to concentrate on his problems, as well. His wife. not even knowing if the love between them was even real. Would she love him when her mind was finally healed? Would he love her? Could he even stand to lose her, when she had kept him together after the separation from Sarah? Everything was simply too much.
Elrond, being perceptive in the ways of mortal hearts just as he was with the ways of life, realized the heaviness of the twins' hearts. He ordered sleep- and not simply a night's sleep. He sent them to slumber until their minds could truly rest. One month- until the moon shined like it did the last time they were awake- they slept.
And when they awoke, they were met with a truly unexpected, truly horrific reality.
~~~ Cliffhanger, baby, yeah! Review!
A/N: Yeah, I'm back. Finally writing again. *silence* Everyone can stop clapping wildly.
*silence continues*
*sigh* Nevermind. Anyway, y'all were wondering how the plot was going to continue.
Good question- I admit I had no idea how to continue. Were Sarah and Ryan going with the Fellowship, or what? So I had to go back and look at the way I've developed the characters. and it just sort of popped into my head! (Thank you, Ian my darling!) Frodo was never supposed to fall in love- so how does it change the way he acts now that he has??? Chapter 10, ladies and gents. I hope you enjoy- I put in more hobbitness, just for you!
10
The Fellowship would be leaving soon. Very soon. Sarah and Ryan felt like every second was part of an hourglass, counting down to when they might never see their friends again. And Narin had been closed off for weeks, while Elrond tried to heal her mind. Meanwhile, the twins had few moments when they were apart from the hobbits, and not a second apart from each other. Neither said it aloud, but they were feverishly trying to make up for all their years alone.
Sarah trailed her hand along the railing as they descended yet another random staircase. "I miss home. Thinking of Amanda reminded me of everything else."
"I know what you mean." Ryan followed close behind, occasionally mouthing the words to a song the elves were singing, but listening to his sister at the same time.
"Remember sneaking up on the roof of Pikes Perk and watching downtown city life while the sun set over the mountains?"
"Yeah. Remember concerts in the park?"
"Of course! Remember Eagle Lake?"
"Yep. How could I forget our sunrise hikes up the hill to the cross? Hey- do you remember how to drive a car?"
Ryan paused for a moment, then laughed in amazement. "No. I don't. Isn't that weird? Then again, its not really a skill we use every day around here."
Sarah giggled in agreement. Of course, she hadn't gotten her license anyway, before they landed in pre-car times. "But I bet I could outride anyone from back home on Atriedes!"
"I bet you could." Ryan stared into the distance for a second, remembering. A small smile crossed his face, but his brow furrowed slightly, sadly. "Remember when Amanda was in Les Mis? That was great."
"Yeah." Sarah came to a bench in a small courtyard. She sat down pensively. "On my own." she began, then looked up at Ryan. He sat obediently to listen. "And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near, and I can make
Believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night when everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head.
On my own
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me-"
Ryan touched her arm. "You sing it so sadly," he said softly.
"I miss my big sister, Ry." She almost didn't say it, but she let herself go on hesitantly. "And I'm tired. Very tired." She lay her head in his lap, and he stroked her hair just like dad used to do.
"Well, then, silly, what do you think you should do? Start a song- and-dance routine? You should go take a nap, and stop letting me keep you up!" He patted her shoulder. Of course, in his fake joviality, Ryan went too far.
"Who are you calling silly, Silent Bob? And I'm hardly going to sleep at ten o'clock in the morning! I meant tired emotionally! And I'll GIVE you a song-and-dance routine." she hopped up. Ryan rolled his eyes. He wondered what show she would pick from. Sarah had been in many musicals back in their 'other life', and she could dance well, too. But unfortunately for Ryan, there was no ensemble to drown out Sarah's belting.
She placed one hand on her hip and one high in the air, fingers spread wide. She tilted her nose high into the air and turned her head to the side in a melodramatic snoot. He waited.
She held her pose for about ten seconds, then gritted her teeth and whispered without moving, "Ryaaaaaaaan!"
"Okay, okay. Fine. .One, two, three, four-"
And with that count off, she began slowly and dramatically,
"The butcher. the baker.. the grocer. the clerk. are secretly unhappy men, because. The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the clerk. get paid for what they do but no applause. They'd gladly bid their dreary jobs goodbye. for anything theatrical and why?"
She had gone through several sweeping moves, then dashed around the room, pretending to find her place on stage. During one of the actual performances, she had fallen off the stage in the darkness. The memory came up for just a split second before she started.
"Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's NO business like SHOW business like NO business I know! Everything about it is appealing! Everything the traffic will allow! Nowhere can you get that happy feeling, when you are stealing, that extra bow! There's no business like show business like no business I know! Even with a turkey that you know will fold, you may be stranded out in the cold. Still you wouldn't trade it for a sack of gold, LET'S GO ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!!!!"
By now, Sarah was nearly sweating with exertion from the wide dance movements which she was exaggerating anyway, along with almost shouting the song. She was breathing heavily, about to spring into the next verse, when she heard clapping.
All four hobbits came bounding into the courtyard, and shouting and cheering.
"That was amazing! I have no idea what any of it meant, but that was grand!" Frodo cried, laughing. "You know, Sarah," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "you sing like a boy."
Sarah stopped short. "Well, yeah, I suppose that's right. You're used to hearing girls sing with soft, melodic voices. Sorry!"
"Oh, believe me, we enjoyed it anyway! And we though you were still sleeping! I shall make sure to check twice when I walk by the door to see if you are up yet!" Merry laughed.
"What's show business? And why would you fold a turkey?" Ryan and Sarah burst out laughing while the hobbits giggled unknowingly. Pippin was undoubtedly used to songs that made sense, or told stories, but they didn't care. It was enough for them to see that Sarah was in higher spirits.
"Come play a game with us, Sarah! These elves are so stuffy because of the Ring business, none of them will play with us! And Ryan can come too if he promises not to win!" Pippin skipped around the bench, finally landing right next to Sarah. She giggled and grabbed his hand. As he began to skip away, Sarah latched onto Merry with her other hand. He grabbed Frodo, who grabbed Sam, who grabbed Ryan. The chain trailed out of the courtyard and into the forests of Rivendell, making as much noise as possible.
Pippin stopped suddenly, and turned to face the competitors. "Tip anyone from the other team, and try to get the handkerchief first. Frodo and Ryan are with me, Merry has Sarah and Sam. Merry's team starts north, mine starts south. Go!"
The hobbits scattered, but Sarah and Ryan just sort of stood there. "Wait- uh- WHAT?"
"Come on, Sarah!" Merry cried. So she followed him, giving Ryan a wink as she dashed off. When she glanced back a second later, he was gone as well.
Let the games begin, she thought mischievously.
Pippin's game was simple- it was sort of a version of hide-and-seek plus capture-the-flag, with a small, bright yellow handkerchief. Pippin hid the handkerchief in the branches of a tree where everyone could see it, then counted off. 'Tipping' apparently meant getting another person's head to touch the ground, any way possible. Sarah already had an advantage- Ryan was more of a track runner, while Sarah had always liked hockey.
Then again, Pippin seemed to know who was good at his game and who wasn't. Merry and Sam couldn't tip a cow if they wanted to, let alone another person. But Sarah was very competitive, and focusing on anything that took her mind off of life's troubles was a blessing.
"All right. Who here can run very fast?"
The two hobbits looked at each other. Merry raised his hand, finally. "I'm faster than Sam, at least."
"Only because you're older," Sam mumbled.
"Okay, okay. Merry, tell me about how Frodo and Pippin play."
"Well, Frodo is the best because he can tip really really well. You won't hear a thing and then before you know it, he's on top of you and your head is touching the ground! But he can only do it if he can sneak up on you. If you see him, he'll run away quick, and circle around until you aren't looking. While he does that, Pippin runs right past and climbs up to get the handkerchief. I suppose he'll have Ryan running, too."
Sarah grinned. She had a plan, of course. She took games like this very, very seriously.
"Merry, go after Ryan. He's fast but he won't be able to hide where he is. And he can't wrestle for beans. Once you get him, go after Pippin. Sam, you sneak your way up to the handkerchief, but don't go for it until I give you the signal. I'll get Frodo- I'm pretty sneaky myself!"
At that moment, Pippin came bounding through the trees. "Are you ready yet? We've been waiting!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go, shortstack." She grinned competitively.
The game began.
***
Three pulled ears, a split lip, and a sprained thumb later, Sarah was up in a tree waiting for Frodo. From the shouts across the forest she could tell that Merry and Ryan were still in the heat of battle, and a whistle told her that Sam was in place. She was guessing that Frodo would attack at the last possible moment, to give Pippin more of a chance. The only question was, who would go for the handkerchief first?
After three more minutes, the scuffling in the distance stopped, and an eerie silence fell over the area. Just go for it, Pippin. Feel safe and secure. Frodo will back you up. Just go for it. she thought mischeviously. Go for it!
Then a leaf fell from a tree near hers, and there was no breeze. Sarah looked at the branches, and realized they crossed with the handkerchief tree. Frodo was going to get there first!
Sarah let out an earsplitting whistle, and Sam leapt from the brush below and scrambled up the tree. Pippin dashed from the other side and almost pulled him down, but Sam was out of reach. Then Frodo swung down and peeled Sam off of the trunk with a loud shout. Both landed in the soft brush, and Sarah leapt down just in time to stop Pippin.
A huge tussle ensued, until Sarah finally couldn't tell who she was pinning down, who was pulling her legs out from under her, and who was grunting in pain. Oh, wait- that was her.
"Get- off- of- me- you- little-"
"OW!"
"AUGH!"
"PIPPIN, GO!"
"I can't, Frodo- she's laying in my leg!"
"SARAH!"
"SAM, WHA- OW!"
"Ahem."
It took her a moment to realize that no one on the ground had just cleared their throat.
"Ahem. Hey, everyone." They all froze. Sarah brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked up. Ryan was standing over them, grinning and waving a little yellow handkerchief.
"Wait- where's Merry?" Sarah pulled herself to her feet.
Ryan tossed the handkerchief at the rest of the hobbits and sauntered past Sarah, murmuring as he went, "I told him you don't like it when boys fight, so he backed off." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You do funny things to these hobbits, Sarah."
Sarah turned and watched him as he left. After a moment, she let herself think, Merry really did that for me?
And she let a tiny smile cross her face.
***
The parting was difficult- almost unbearable. Ryan watched how much it hurt Sarah, and he almost couldn't bear it. That, plus the parting of the Fellowship- Aragorn in particular- broke Ryan down. They weren't going with them; he had to accept it! But something inside him was screaming that they were making a huge mistake.
He wouldn't let himself think about it. The strain and the mystery surrounding their sister, not knowing what to do, losing the Fellowship (for it truly did feel like a loss), it all weighed on the hearts of the twins. Ryan didn't even want to think about what he would do if he was in love with one of them, like Sarah obviously was. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't realized it yet- Sarah was like that.
But it must have hurt her even more than it hurt him, to watch them go. Ryan, however, had to concentrate on his problems, as well. His wife. not even knowing if the love between them was even real. Would she love him when her mind was finally healed? Would he love her? Could he even stand to lose her, when she had kept him together after the separation from Sarah? Everything was simply too much.
Elrond, being perceptive in the ways of mortal hearts just as he was with the ways of life, realized the heaviness of the twins' hearts. He ordered sleep- and not simply a night's sleep. He sent them to slumber until their minds could truly rest. One month- until the moon shined like it did the last time they were awake- they slept.
And when they awoke, they were met with a truly unexpected, truly horrific reality.
~~~ Cliffhanger, baby, yeah! Review!
