It wasn't a man who lay beneath Merry. The moon lit up a handsome face,
with long blond hair falling back over pointed ears.
"Legolas!" Merry said, as soon as he had got over his shock enough to speak.
"Merry!" Legolas looked as surprised as Merry felt. Merry scrambled backwards off him and Legolas sat up.
"What are you doing here?" Merry hissed.
Suddenly both turned to the sound of footsteps outside and a key turning in the lock. Merry looked at Legolas with a panicked expression, thinking of how King Elmas would react to having an elf in his palace.
"Hide!" Merry whispered. Legolas glanced around, and then slid under the bed just as the door opened. A guard stood there, holding out a candle.
"Are you alright?" the guard asked, "I thought I heard noises."
"I was having a bad dream," Merry lied, "I'm fine." The guard nodded with a look of sympathy. It seemed knowledge of Pippin leaving him had spread through the palace. The guard accepted this explanation and turned to leave.
"Wait," Merry called, seeing the candlestick on the ground. He picked it up and took a candle from a supply in the cupboard. The guard, seeing what he intended, held out his own candle for Merry to light it.
"Goodnight, Merry," the guard said kindly, leaving again, locking the door behind him. Legolas slid out from under the bed and looked around the room by the dim light of the candle.
"Quite a nice prison," he commented.
"It's not a prison," Merry said, "if they were at all serious about keeping me locked up they'd have barred the window." Merry was feeling surprisingly hostile towards Legolas. He had been in a foul mood since Pippin had gone, and he wasn't going to welcome someone climbing through his window in the middle of the night. Why was Legolas here now? Why hadn't he shown up when he would have been useful? When the orcs were driving Merry and Pippin to Isengard with their whips.
"What are you doing here, Legolas?" he asked. "You'd better have a very good reason for why I just lied to that guard."
"Most of my people have gone west," Legolas explained, "crossing to sea to the undying lands. I'm not ready to go yet. Since they went I have taken to wandering, since I no longer have a home in Middle Earth. I have travelled much of the world, sometimes with Gimli or Aragorn, mostly on my own. I came to these woods alone and decided to stay hidden until I learned more about the men who live here.
"It was on my third day in these woods that I saw Pippin. He was with a group of men, collecting fruit, with guards watching. I guessed that he, and you, were prisoners here. I followed them to this palace. Pippin saw me, I think, but he didn't say anything. He just looked puzzled."
"He didn't think you were real," Merry said, "I wanted to play chess with him but he said he wouldn't be able to concentrate. That he'd already been dreaming on his feet during the day."
"That night, I was in the woods near the palace, and I saw him climb down from this window. I went to speak with him, but a group of men reached him before I could. There were a dozen of them, and they took him prisoner. I couldn't fight them all myself, and they would give the alarm before I had a chance of getting him free. I guessed them to be guards taking him back to his prison, and decided to wait for a better chance to rescue him."
"We're not prisoners here," Merry said, "Well, in a way we are because we're not allowed to leave the kingdom, but we've always been treated kindly and allowed to do what we please."
"Then why put you in chains?" Merry wondered what he was talking about, until he realised the candlelight was reflecting off the band of belonging on his left wrist. He laughed for the first time in days.
"It's nothing like that. They have a custom here that when two people get married they put these on. They represent the eternal bonds of love, since they can never be taken off."
"You're married?" Even in the dim light, Merry could see how amazed Legolas was.
Merry nodded, blushing slightly, "To Pippin." He hurried on before Legolas could say anything, "I know that must seem strange, but Pippin and I. . ."
"It doesn't seem strange," Legolas interrupted, "unexpected perhaps, but not unnatural. It happens sometimes among elves, and quite frequently among dwarves according to Gimli, but that's probably because its impossible to know whether a dwarf is male or female so same sex relationships are inevitable." Merry smiled at that.
"I never thought that you and Pippin would end up together," Legolas said, "If anyone, I thought Frodo and Sam would, but apparently Sam is now happily married and raising a family."
"They're alright?" The thought of news from the Shire was something Merry had never expected. He and Pippin had been cut off from everyone and everything that they knew. They had often wondered what had happened to the rest of the fellowship, and now Merry had the chance to know.
Legolas told him everything that had happened since the day that the fellowship was broken. He told him about the battles and the war, about the rebuilding afterwards, and what he knew about the doings of the other fellowship members. Sometime while they were talking it ceased to be late and became early. The dawn was breaking and light coming through the window. Merry was able to put aside his concerns for Pippin for the first time since he had woken up to find him gone.
Neither of them were expecting the door to open when it did. Both looked up as Acs came in, staring at the elf who sat in one of the chairs by the window. He froze for a moment, and that was all it took.
"Go!" Merry said. Legolas hesitated. "I'll be alright." Legolas was out of the window in an instant and gone, disappearing into the trees. Acs recovered from his shock and put the breakfast tray down.
"I have to report this," he said, "report you."
"I know," Merry said quietly.
"I'm sorry, Merry. You're my friend, but I've sworn to serve the king."
"I know. Go and report me, I promise I'll be here when you get back." Acs hesitated, and then left. Merry sat down to eat his breakfast. He couldn't be certain of when he would next be fed if the king planned on punishing him for this, so he might as well make the most of the food he had now.
He'd barely started eating when the door was flung open. Guards charged in. Merry didn't have time to react, as they grabbed his arms and knocked the chair aside. They forced him to his knees as King Elmas entered. Acs followed the king, looking anywhere but at Merry.
"I don't like people lying to me," King Elmas said.
"I didn't lie," Merry began. His words ended in a gasp of pain as one of the guards twisted his arm.
"You brought a stranger into my palace! You were speaking with an enemy of Ethrin!"
"No! Legolas isn't an enemy."
"So you admit to have been speaking to him?"
"Yes."
"Yet you failed to mention him yesterday."
"I didn't know he was here yesterday." The guard twisted his arm again, sending pain up into his shoulder.
"You expect me to believe that someone you didn't know yesterday was in your room today discussing the secrets of my realm?"
"I didn't say I didn't know him," Merry protested. He cried out as his arm was twisted even harder than before.
"If you cannot keep your lies together for even a minute then I have nothing to say to you. You will not speak until you're ready to tell me the truth."
"If you would just let me. . ." Merry's words were muffled as a guard shoved a thick gag into his mouth. The king strode out, and the guards bound Merry's hands tightly behind him. They then hauled him to his feet, and half dragged, half carried him from the room. Acs watched silently, shooting Merry looks of apology as he was pulled past him towards the cells.
***
Author's note: So now I've added Legolas to the confusion, this might get complicated. Please review.
"Legolas!" Merry said, as soon as he had got over his shock enough to speak.
"Merry!" Legolas looked as surprised as Merry felt. Merry scrambled backwards off him and Legolas sat up.
"What are you doing here?" Merry hissed.
Suddenly both turned to the sound of footsteps outside and a key turning in the lock. Merry looked at Legolas with a panicked expression, thinking of how King Elmas would react to having an elf in his palace.
"Hide!" Merry whispered. Legolas glanced around, and then slid under the bed just as the door opened. A guard stood there, holding out a candle.
"Are you alright?" the guard asked, "I thought I heard noises."
"I was having a bad dream," Merry lied, "I'm fine." The guard nodded with a look of sympathy. It seemed knowledge of Pippin leaving him had spread through the palace. The guard accepted this explanation and turned to leave.
"Wait," Merry called, seeing the candlestick on the ground. He picked it up and took a candle from a supply in the cupboard. The guard, seeing what he intended, held out his own candle for Merry to light it.
"Goodnight, Merry," the guard said kindly, leaving again, locking the door behind him. Legolas slid out from under the bed and looked around the room by the dim light of the candle.
"Quite a nice prison," he commented.
"It's not a prison," Merry said, "if they were at all serious about keeping me locked up they'd have barred the window." Merry was feeling surprisingly hostile towards Legolas. He had been in a foul mood since Pippin had gone, and he wasn't going to welcome someone climbing through his window in the middle of the night. Why was Legolas here now? Why hadn't he shown up when he would have been useful? When the orcs were driving Merry and Pippin to Isengard with their whips.
"What are you doing here, Legolas?" he asked. "You'd better have a very good reason for why I just lied to that guard."
"Most of my people have gone west," Legolas explained, "crossing to sea to the undying lands. I'm not ready to go yet. Since they went I have taken to wandering, since I no longer have a home in Middle Earth. I have travelled much of the world, sometimes with Gimli or Aragorn, mostly on my own. I came to these woods alone and decided to stay hidden until I learned more about the men who live here.
"It was on my third day in these woods that I saw Pippin. He was with a group of men, collecting fruit, with guards watching. I guessed that he, and you, were prisoners here. I followed them to this palace. Pippin saw me, I think, but he didn't say anything. He just looked puzzled."
"He didn't think you were real," Merry said, "I wanted to play chess with him but he said he wouldn't be able to concentrate. That he'd already been dreaming on his feet during the day."
"That night, I was in the woods near the palace, and I saw him climb down from this window. I went to speak with him, but a group of men reached him before I could. There were a dozen of them, and they took him prisoner. I couldn't fight them all myself, and they would give the alarm before I had a chance of getting him free. I guessed them to be guards taking him back to his prison, and decided to wait for a better chance to rescue him."
"We're not prisoners here," Merry said, "Well, in a way we are because we're not allowed to leave the kingdom, but we've always been treated kindly and allowed to do what we please."
"Then why put you in chains?" Merry wondered what he was talking about, until he realised the candlelight was reflecting off the band of belonging on his left wrist. He laughed for the first time in days.
"It's nothing like that. They have a custom here that when two people get married they put these on. They represent the eternal bonds of love, since they can never be taken off."
"You're married?" Even in the dim light, Merry could see how amazed Legolas was.
Merry nodded, blushing slightly, "To Pippin." He hurried on before Legolas could say anything, "I know that must seem strange, but Pippin and I. . ."
"It doesn't seem strange," Legolas interrupted, "unexpected perhaps, but not unnatural. It happens sometimes among elves, and quite frequently among dwarves according to Gimli, but that's probably because its impossible to know whether a dwarf is male or female so same sex relationships are inevitable." Merry smiled at that.
"I never thought that you and Pippin would end up together," Legolas said, "If anyone, I thought Frodo and Sam would, but apparently Sam is now happily married and raising a family."
"They're alright?" The thought of news from the Shire was something Merry had never expected. He and Pippin had been cut off from everyone and everything that they knew. They had often wondered what had happened to the rest of the fellowship, and now Merry had the chance to know.
Legolas told him everything that had happened since the day that the fellowship was broken. He told him about the battles and the war, about the rebuilding afterwards, and what he knew about the doings of the other fellowship members. Sometime while they were talking it ceased to be late and became early. The dawn was breaking and light coming through the window. Merry was able to put aside his concerns for Pippin for the first time since he had woken up to find him gone.
Neither of them were expecting the door to open when it did. Both looked up as Acs came in, staring at the elf who sat in one of the chairs by the window. He froze for a moment, and that was all it took.
"Go!" Merry said. Legolas hesitated. "I'll be alright." Legolas was out of the window in an instant and gone, disappearing into the trees. Acs recovered from his shock and put the breakfast tray down.
"I have to report this," he said, "report you."
"I know," Merry said quietly.
"I'm sorry, Merry. You're my friend, but I've sworn to serve the king."
"I know. Go and report me, I promise I'll be here when you get back." Acs hesitated, and then left. Merry sat down to eat his breakfast. He couldn't be certain of when he would next be fed if the king planned on punishing him for this, so he might as well make the most of the food he had now.
He'd barely started eating when the door was flung open. Guards charged in. Merry didn't have time to react, as they grabbed his arms and knocked the chair aside. They forced him to his knees as King Elmas entered. Acs followed the king, looking anywhere but at Merry.
"I don't like people lying to me," King Elmas said.
"I didn't lie," Merry began. His words ended in a gasp of pain as one of the guards twisted his arm.
"You brought a stranger into my palace! You were speaking with an enemy of Ethrin!"
"No! Legolas isn't an enemy."
"So you admit to have been speaking to him?"
"Yes."
"Yet you failed to mention him yesterday."
"I didn't know he was here yesterday." The guard twisted his arm again, sending pain up into his shoulder.
"You expect me to believe that someone you didn't know yesterday was in your room today discussing the secrets of my realm?"
"I didn't say I didn't know him," Merry protested. He cried out as his arm was twisted even harder than before.
"If you cannot keep your lies together for even a minute then I have nothing to say to you. You will not speak until you're ready to tell me the truth."
"If you would just let me. . ." Merry's words were muffled as a guard shoved a thick gag into his mouth. The king strode out, and the guards bound Merry's hands tightly behind him. They then hauled him to his feet, and half dragged, half carried him from the room. Acs watched silently, shooting Merry looks of apology as he was pulled past him towards the cells.
***
Author's note: So now I've added Legolas to the confusion, this might get complicated. Please review.