TITLE: "Brandywine"
AUTHOR: Mainframe
RATING: PG
PAIRING: None so far
Disclaimer: The Hobbits belong to J. R.R. Tolkien and are not of my creation and I make no money from this or other stories involving them, this is purely a non-profit fiction of my creation in honour of the book & movies. However this storyline is mine.
SUMMARY: It's been raining none stop for over a month in the shire and Bilbo is being driven mad by three young hobbits with too much energy to spend. But is his solution to the problem a wise one or could it led to disaster?
NOTES: Well I'm completely gob smacked that you all like it! I was completely convinced I was going to make a fool of myself. Thank you once again and especially to Kyaku who noticed Merry's unusual attitude. There is a reason.
Brandywine
1 Chapter 4: Footfall
They had been walking for over an hour when the light breeze that blew drizzle gained strength. Sam looked up from his burden into the darkening sky and realised that they were fast loosing the light; they would have to quicken their pace considerably if they were to reach Bag-End before dark. It was not spoken but communicated all the same. Frodo quickened his pace as they walked single file along the bank, every now and then he would hazard a glance at the now angry waters that rushed past, too close were they for his liking. In the dimming light Frodo saw the river transform into the liquid smooth motion of red dragon scales rushing past, he shook his head and the image dissolved. *Too many tales my Lad* He scolded and swallowed audibly, locking his eyes to the path once again.
The soft mud was yielding to their weight more and more the further they travelled, but in another half hour they would reach the edge of the Wood's and would then be able to cut up, back, and across the fields. They had reached the halfway point. A hushed silence had befallen the three; it was abruptly broken by a cry from Merry. Unbeknownst to the boys, the river had been slowly eroding the soft earth underneath the path they now travelled. Weeks of rain had caused the natural process of erosion to increase tenfold, and though they did not know it, every footfall brought them closer to disaster!
Disaster struck when Sam, who was between Frodo and Merry, dropped his sack with a startled cry as the path gave way beneath him. Before Frodo knew what had happened Merry abandoned his load and shot forward to grab Sam's flailing hand as he disappeared from sight.
"Frodo!" Merry screamed as he felt himself slip from the path and was pulled into the freezing depths of the Brandywine headfirst. There was a moment of pure terror as his head sank beneath the water, they tumbled together over and over until neither of them knew up from down, but Merry held fast to Sam and groped at the edge of the bank until his hand snagged a tree root. His fingers locked around it and he pulled his head above the surface. He looked to Sam and discovered that he was still submerged, the current was battering his outstretched arm but he gritted his teeth and yanked hard. Sam burst from the water spluttering, gasping and completely disorientated. In the distance they heard Frodo's frantic cries, his voice was barely recognisable it had risen so high.
"Sam! Merry! Where are yooooou?" He continued down the path slipping and sliding as he ran, letting his eyes scan the water for signs of his friends. In his head a voice kept repeating one sentence *Not again! Please Elbereth not again! Not again, not again! *
His frantic search was rewarded finally when he spotted Merry clinging to a tree root and gripping a coughing and spluttering Samwise. He dashed forward but was forced to slow down when he realised how brittle the bank was, he reached out his arm as far as he could stretch whilst twisting his foot securely around another old tree root. Merry's teeth were chattering as Frodo leaned over towards him. In the dim light Frodo could tell that his lips were darker then they should be and he shook uncontrollably, Sam huddled pale and silent, eye's half closed in Merry's arm. Sam's big heavy lidded brown eyes stared up at him full of drowsiness and fear, for Sam could not swim and Frodo knew he feared any water deeper then his knees.
Suddenly the root Merry was gripping snapped under the strain. With a strangled cry he fell back, Frodo's hand locked around his wrist with bruising force and a small cry escaped him.
"I've got you! Hold on and I'll pull you up" He grunted under their combined weight.
Frodo soon realised after several failed attempts that the current was simply to strong, he had to act fast before the two of them froze to death.
"Merry see if you can swing Sam to me" He unclamped his left hand from the grass verge so that all their weight hung from his right foot, reaching down he held it out towards Sam.
"Sam! Sam can you hear me?" He shouted but got no response. "Sam take my hand, please, please try!"
Finally Sam managed to reach out a frozen arm, just enough for Frodo to grip, he gasped as he felt the cold flesh. His mind snapped back to his parents and how they had felt when they…. No! He shook his head and with a sudden burst of energy yanked Sam so hard he was pulled clean out of the water and landed heavily on the bank. Frodo's fingers had become so cold that they stung and were slow to respond to his command and his shoulder joint protested loudly at the sudden wrenching weight of Sam, but it wasn't over yet, now for Merry. Once out of the water Sam mustered enough strength to sit up, leaning heavily against the same tree Frodo hung from, he felt very tired and even though his friends were still in trouble it didn't seem to matter. He closed his eyes.
"Frodo?" Merry breathed between chattering teeth. "I…c-can't feel.. m-m-my
l-l-l-leeg'ssss…any..morrre".
"Easy Merry I have you! I have you!" But his earlier energy was starting to fade and the cold air that was biting at his exposed arms and face was draining his body control. He managed to hoist Merry out of the water so that he was now gripping him by the seat of his breeches and threw his other arm around his cousin's waist. The arm that held Merry's waist trembled; its hand was already unresponsive and hung limp and useless as Frodo desperately tried to lift Merry further.
"Merry…Merry, you've g-got to h-h-help m-me". He wheezed. "Try to p-pull yourself..up-p".
Frodo lay very still as Merry slowly managed to rouse his arms and pull himself up and over his cousin. He paused to catch his breath and wiggled his toes as he felt a flicker of life return to them. He could hear his cousins laboured breathing under his weight. One last push and he could roll onto the bank. Merry panted heavily and was surprised when Sam's hand latched onto his shirtfront, he grabbed his arm and pushed as Sam pulled and he slid from Frodo onto the path in a sprawl. Merry managed to smile a thank you to Sam before they heard a terrible sound.
As Frodo brought his trembling hands back to the grass verge to find a grip there came a painful creak that was quickly followed by a sharp deafening snap as the tree root gave way. Frodo teetered on the edge long enough to cry out before he fell forward and his scream was cut short as water rushed into his mouth.
Tbc ~
AUTHOR: Mainframe
RATING: PG
PAIRING: None so far
Disclaimer: The Hobbits belong to J. R.R. Tolkien and are not of my creation and I make no money from this or other stories involving them, this is purely a non-profit fiction of my creation in honour of the book & movies. However this storyline is mine.
SUMMARY: It's been raining none stop for over a month in the shire and Bilbo is being driven mad by three young hobbits with too much energy to spend. But is his solution to the problem a wise one or could it led to disaster?
NOTES: Well I'm completely gob smacked that you all like it! I was completely convinced I was going to make a fool of myself. Thank you once again and especially to Kyaku who noticed Merry's unusual attitude. There is a reason.
Brandywine
1 Chapter 4: Footfall
They had been walking for over an hour when the light breeze that blew drizzle gained strength. Sam looked up from his burden into the darkening sky and realised that they were fast loosing the light; they would have to quicken their pace considerably if they were to reach Bag-End before dark. It was not spoken but communicated all the same. Frodo quickened his pace as they walked single file along the bank, every now and then he would hazard a glance at the now angry waters that rushed past, too close were they for his liking. In the dimming light Frodo saw the river transform into the liquid smooth motion of red dragon scales rushing past, he shook his head and the image dissolved. *Too many tales my Lad* He scolded and swallowed audibly, locking his eyes to the path once again.
The soft mud was yielding to their weight more and more the further they travelled, but in another half hour they would reach the edge of the Wood's and would then be able to cut up, back, and across the fields. They had reached the halfway point. A hushed silence had befallen the three; it was abruptly broken by a cry from Merry. Unbeknownst to the boys, the river had been slowly eroding the soft earth underneath the path they now travelled. Weeks of rain had caused the natural process of erosion to increase tenfold, and though they did not know it, every footfall brought them closer to disaster!
Disaster struck when Sam, who was between Frodo and Merry, dropped his sack with a startled cry as the path gave way beneath him. Before Frodo knew what had happened Merry abandoned his load and shot forward to grab Sam's flailing hand as he disappeared from sight.
"Frodo!" Merry screamed as he felt himself slip from the path and was pulled into the freezing depths of the Brandywine headfirst. There was a moment of pure terror as his head sank beneath the water, they tumbled together over and over until neither of them knew up from down, but Merry held fast to Sam and groped at the edge of the bank until his hand snagged a tree root. His fingers locked around it and he pulled his head above the surface. He looked to Sam and discovered that he was still submerged, the current was battering his outstretched arm but he gritted his teeth and yanked hard. Sam burst from the water spluttering, gasping and completely disorientated. In the distance they heard Frodo's frantic cries, his voice was barely recognisable it had risen so high.
"Sam! Merry! Where are yooooou?" He continued down the path slipping and sliding as he ran, letting his eyes scan the water for signs of his friends. In his head a voice kept repeating one sentence *Not again! Please Elbereth not again! Not again, not again! *
His frantic search was rewarded finally when he spotted Merry clinging to a tree root and gripping a coughing and spluttering Samwise. He dashed forward but was forced to slow down when he realised how brittle the bank was, he reached out his arm as far as he could stretch whilst twisting his foot securely around another old tree root. Merry's teeth were chattering as Frodo leaned over towards him. In the dim light Frodo could tell that his lips were darker then they should be and he shook uncontrollably, Sam huddled pale and silent, eye's half closed in Merry's arm. Sam's big heavy lidded brown eyes stared up at him full of drowsiness and fear, for Sam could not swim and Frodo knew he feared any water deeper then his knees.
Suddenly the root Merry was gripping snapped under the strain. With a strangled cry he fell back, Frodo's hand locked around his wrist with bruising force and a small cry escaped him.
"I've got you! Hold on and I'll pull you up" He grunted under their combined weight.
Frodo soon realised after several failed attempts that the current was simply to strong, he had to act fast before the two of them froze to death.
"Merry see if you can swing Sam to me" He unclamped his left hand from the grass verge so that all their weight hung from his right foot, reaching down he held it out towards Sam.
"Sam! Sam can you hear me?" He shouted but got no response. "Sam take my hand, please, please try!"
Finally Sam managed to reach out a frozen arm, just enough for Frodo to grip, he gasped as he felt the cold flesh. His mind snapped back to his parents and how they had felt when they…. No! He shook his head and with a sudden burst of energy yanked Sam so hard he was pulled clean out of the water and landed heavily on the bank. Frodo's fingers had become so cold that they stung and were slow to respond to his command and his shoulder joint protested loudly at the sudden wrenching weight of Sam, but it wasn't over yet, now for Merry. Once out of the water Sam mustered enough strength to sit up, leaning heavily against the same tree Frodo hung from, he felt very tired and even though his friends were still in trouble it didn't seem to matter. He closed his eyes.
"Frodo?" Merry breathed between chattering teeth. "I…c-can't feel.. m-m-my
l-l-l-leeg'ssss…any..morrre".
"Easy Merry I have you! I have you!" But his earlier energy was starting to fade and the cold air that was biting at his exposed arms and face was draining his body control. He managed to hoist Merry out of the water so that he was now gripping him by the seat of his breeches and threw his other arm around his cousin's waist. The arm that held Merry's waist trembled; its hand was already unresponsive and hung limp and useless as Frodo desperately tried to lift Merry further.
"Merry…Merry, you've g-got to h-h-help m-me". He wheezed. "Try to p-pull yourself..up-p".
Frodo lay very still as Merry slowly managed to rouse his arms and pull himself up and over his cousin. He paused to catch his breath and wiggled his toes as he felt a flicker of life return to them. He could hear his cousins laboured breathing under his weight. One last push and he could roll onto the bank. Merry panted heavily and was surprised when Sam's hand latched onto his shirtfront, he grabbed his arm and pushed as Sam pulled and he slid from Frodo onto the path in a sprawl. Merry managed to smile a thank you to Sam before they heard a terrible sound.
As Frodo brought his trembling hands back to the grass verge to find a grip there came a painful creak that was quickly followed by a sharp deafening snap as the tree root gave way. Frodo teetered on the edge long enough to cry out before he fell forward and his scream was cut short as water rushed into his mouth.
Tbc ~