Disclaimer: Given that there are an infinite number of parallel universes,
in which every possibility is played out, there must logically be a
parallel universe in which I own LotR. Unfortunately, it's not this one.
Author's note: This story is set in an alternate universe post war. When Merry and Pippin were prisoners of the orcs, it wasn't Rohan who attacked, but a group of southerners. The southerners had trade routes cut off because of the war, and so were exploring northwards. They brought them through the Gap of Rohan along the river Isen to the sea, and took them by ship to Ethrin a kingdom south of both Gondor and Mordor. I'm fairly sure this course is possible, if it isn't, tough. It's obviously just another difference between this universe and the one we all know and love.
***
Merry clawed at the metal band around his wrist. He pulled and tugged and dug his fingers underneath but the band was too tight to come over his hand. The ends had been fused together so that the only way to take it off was to cut off his hand. But still Merry pulled at it.
He was perched in the branches of the tree that grew outside his window, tears running down his face, trying to break a bond that couldn't be broken.
"Merry?" a voice called, somewhere below him, and a man's head looked out of the window. "Merry, I've brought you some dinner."
"I'm not hungry," Merry called down.
"You? Not hungry? I shall have to tell the king we have an impostor in our midst." Merry didn't even smile at the man's week joke.
"Merry, please come in." Merry remained where he was. "If you don't come in, I'll have to fetch you, and I don't think the branches will support my weight." It was only when he heard the snap of a small branch that Merry looked down and realised the man was indeed going to climb up and fetch him.
"Wait," Merry called, "I'll come down." The man retreated back inside the window, and in moments Merry had scrambled in behind him. The room was a large one, with a strange mix of furniture. A human-sized bed had steps built on either side to allow a hobbit to get in more easily. The half- sized table was surrounded by four chairs, two small, two large. Two small, cushioned chairs stood on either side of the window. While the cupboard had obviously been intended for men to use, the games that were spilling out of the open door were made for hobbit hands.
Merry sat down on one of the small chairs by the table, and picked up the fork that rested on the tray. He poked it in the stew, but didn't eat anything. He prodded the lumps of meat, and watched as the gravy swirled over them. The man, Acs, sat opposite him and watched.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Acs asked after a while. Merry wondered what he was talking about, until he noticed the blood creeping under the band around his wrist. He must have torn the skin with his nails. It did hurt, he realised now, but he hadn't noticed.
Acs fetched the wash bowl and cloth from its stand. He poured in a little of the water from the jug he had brought, and proceeded to clean Merry's wrist. The water stung on the cuts, but he didn't care. Merry just stared at the metal band, with his name and Pippin's inscribed in the surface in the language of Ethrin to represent the bond they shared.
"What did I do?" he asked quietly, "Why did he leave?"
"I don't know," Acs replied. "But I'm sure he'll come back. He loves you." Merry began to cry again. He buried his head in Acs' chest and simply broke down.
***
Krech only understood a little of the common tongue. He understood when the man said he would not be hurt if he answered the questions that he was asked truthfully, but didn't know whether to believe or not. Strange tales were told of these northern men.
There were two of them in the room with him. One was questioning him thoroughly, the other just stood by the door and watched. Krech wasn't sure what purpose he had in being there. The room was small, furnished only with two hard chairs facing each other. The questioner sat in one, his back to the door. Krech sat in the opposite one. The chair he sat in was fixed to the floor, and Krech's legs were bound to it. They had left his arms free however.
"Whom do you serve?" The questioner had asked that several times now, but Krech refused to reply, despite understanding it well enough. The questioner glanced at the other, who shrugged his shoulders slightly. Obviously the gesture meant something to the questioner.
"What is that?" Here the questioner pointed to the band of metal around Krech's wrist. He didn't know the right word for it in common tongue, so he explained it as best he could.
"It means I belong to another," he said. He wondered if he would ever see Anek again, touch her beautiful face, hold her in his arms. The bond meant that their souls were always together, but it was not the same as being able to speak to her and see her.
The man by the door muttered a word Krech didn't understand: "Slaves."
"What were you doing in Gondor?" the questioner asked.
"I was sent to look at your land, your positions," Krech replied.
"For invasion?" Again, the questioner used a word Krech didn't understand.
"I don't understand," he said, honestly.
"Why were you sent to look at our land?"
"I don't know. I was told to come and I came." Krech suspected that the king wanted to know if it would be worth trading with this land, but he didn't know for sure and he shouldn't speculate before strangers. Especially strangers who held him prisoner.
"Who sent you?" Krech was silent. "I know you understand me, and I will get the answers I want."
"Please let me return," Krech said quietly. But the questioner kept on asking his questions. The man by the door listened silent to each answer. Krech was getting tired and was beginning to lose concentration. He might inadvertently give away more than he intended in a careless answer if this carried on much longer and so fell silent. The man continued asking, but Krech refused to answer.
Suddenly the questioner stood up. The man by the door opened it and went out, the questioner following. Two guards came into the room, and cut the bonds that held him to the chair. They then seized his arms tightly and marched him out of the room. Krech was afraid that they were angry with him and planned to torture the information out of him.
He needn't have worried. The room he was taken to was a cell, but it contained a bed. The guards released him and left him. He was left unbound, but there was still no way he could escape. He took the only logical action, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
***
Aragorn had been listening carefully as the spy was interrogated. He had come from the south, that much was certain. Gondor knew little about the lands there, and so he didn't know quite what to make of the man's answers. He was a slave, he had said, yet he wanted to return home. That seemed strange, and it seemed stranger that anyone would send a slave on such a mission. Unless perhaps the owner of this spy had some hold over him to force him to return. Perhaps a threat over a loved one?
If the ruler of the southern kingdom was sending out scouts for invasion, Aragorn needed to know all he could. He had already sent spies of his own, south beyond the river Harnen, which marked the boundary of southern Gondor. He hoped he was wrong, but if the southerners were preparing an attack, Gondor must be prepared for war.
***
Author's note: Sorry it's such a short opening chapter. I'll post the next one soon. Please review. I don't mind criticism as long as it's useful, but please don't think that means you can't tell me I'm wonderful.
Author's note: This story is set in an alternate universe post war. When Merry and Pippin were prisoners of the orcs, it wasn't Rohan who attacked, but a group of southerners. The southerners had trade routes cut off because of the war, and so were exploring northwards. They brought them through the Gap of Rohan along the river Isen to the sea, and took them by ship to Ethrin a kingdom south of both Gondor and Mordor. I'm fairly sure this course is possible, if it isn't, tough. It's obviously just another difference between this universe and the one we all know and love.
***
Merry clawed at the metal band around his wrist. He pulled and tugged and dug his fingers underneath but the band was too tight to come over his hand. The ends had been fused together so that the only way to take it off was to cut off his hand. But still Merry pulled at it.
He was perched in the branches of the tree that grew outside his window, tears running down his face, trying to break a bond that couldn't be broken.
"Merry?" a voice called, somewhere below him, and a man's head looked out of the window. "Merry, I've brought you some dinner."
"I'm not hungry," Merry called down.
"You? Not hungry? I shall have to tell the king we have an impostor in our midst." Merry didn't even smile at the man's week joke.
"Merry, please come in." Merry remained where he was. "If you don't come in, I'll have to fetch you, and I don't think the branches will support my weight." It was only when he heard the snap of a small branch that Merry looked down and realised the man was indeed going to climb up and fetch him.
"Wait," Merry called, "I'll come down." The man retreated back inside the window, and in moments Merry had scrambled in behind him. The room was a large one, with a strange mix of furniture. A human-sized bed had steps built on either side to allow a hobbit to get in more easily. The half- sized table was surrounded by four chairs, two small, two large. Two small, cushioned chairs stood on either side of the window. While the cupboard had obviously been intended for men to use, the games that were spilling out of the open door were made for hobbit hands.
Merry sat down on one of the small chairs by the table, and picked up the fork that rested on the tray. He poked it in the stew, but didn't eat anything. He prodded the lumps of meat, and watched as the gravy swirled over them. The man, Acs, sat opposite him and watched.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Acs asked after a while. Merry wondered what he was talking about, until he noticed the blood creeping under the band around his wrist. He must have torn the skin with his nails. It did hurt, he realised now, but he hadn't noticed.
Acs fetched the wash bowl and cloth from its stand. He poured in a little of the water from the jug he had brought, and proceeded to clean Merry's wrist. The water stung on the cuts, but he didn't care. Merry just stared at the metal band, with his name and Pippin's inscribed in the surface in the language of Ethrin to represent the bond they shared.
"What did I do?" he asked quietly, "Why did he leave?"
"I don't know," Acs replied. "But I'm sure he'll come back. He loves you." Merry began to cry again. He buried his head in Acs' chest and simply broke down.
***
Krech only understood a little of the common tongue. He understood when the man said he would not be hurt if he answered the questions that he was asked truthfully, but didn't know whether to believe or not. Strange tales were told of these northern men.
There were two of them in the room with him. One was questioning him thoroughly, the other just stood by the door and watched. Krech wasn't sure what purpose he had in being there. The room was small, furnished only with two hard chairs facing each other. The questioner sat in one, his back to the door. Krech sat in the opposite one. The chair he sat in was fixed to the floor, and Krech's legs were bound to it. They had left his arms free however.
"Whom do you serve?" The questioner had asked that several times now, but Krech refused to reply, despite understanding it well enough. The questioner glanced at the other, who shrugged his shoulders slightly. Obviously the gesture meant something to the questioner.
"What is that?" Here the questioner pointed to the band of metal around Krech's wrist. He didn't know the right word for it in common tongue, so he explained it as best he could.
"It means I belong to another," he said. He wondered if he would ever see Anek again, touch her beautiful face, hold her in his arms. The bond meant that their souls were always together, but it was not the same as being able to speak to her and see her.
The man by the door muttered a word Krech didn't understand: "Slaves."
"What were you doing in Gondor?" the questioner asked.
"I was sent to look at your land, your positions," Krech replied.
"For invasion?" Again, the questioner used a word Krech didn't understand.
"I don't understand," he said, honestly.
"Why were you sent to look at our land?"
"I don't know. I was told to come and I came." Krech suspected that the king wanted to know if it would be worth trading with this land, but he didn't know for sure and he shouldn't speculate before strangers. Especially strangers who held him prisoner.
"Who sent you?" Krech was silent. "I know you understand me, and I will get the answers I want."
"Please let me return," Krech said quietly. But the questioner kept on asking his questions. The man by the door listened silent to each answer. Krech was getting tired and was beginning to lose concentration. He might inadvertently give away more than he intended in a careless answer if this carried on much longer and so fell silent. The man continued asking, but Krech refused to answer.
Suddenly the questioner stood up. The man by the door opened it and went out, the questioner following. Two guards came into the room, and cut the bonds that held him to the chair. They then seized his arms tightly and marched him out of the room. Krech was afraid that they were angry with him and planned to torture the information out of him.
He needn't have worried. The room he was taken to was a cell, but it contained a bed. The guards released him and left him. He was left unbound, but there was still no way he could escape. He took the only logical action, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
***
Aragorn had been listening carefully as the spy was interrogated. He had come from the south, that much was certain. Gondor knew little about the lands there, and so he didn't know quite what to make of the man's answers. He was a slave, he had said, yet he wanted to return home. That seemed strange, and it seemed stranger that anyone would send a slave on such a mission. Unless perhaps the owner of this spy had some hold over him to force him to return. Perhaps a threat over a loved one?
If the ruler of the southern kingdom was sending out scouts for invasion, Aragorn needed to know all he could. He had already sent spies of his own, south beyond the river Harnen, which marked the boundary of southern Gondor. He hoped he was wrong, but if the southerners were preparing an attack, Gondor must be prepared for war.
***
Author's note: Sorry it's such a short opening chapter. I'll post the next one soon. Please review. I don't mind criticism as long as it's useful, but please don't think that means you can't tell me I'm wonderful.