Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters at all, they all belong to
Tolkien. Most of this chapter is a memory that Merry is reliving. Just a
warning so you're not confused! Please, read and review.
That morning Estella stole off to my house instead of going to hers. She kept on glancing over her shoulder, as if she expected to be followed by somebody who would hurt her.
I placed my hand on her back and whispered comforting things in her ear, but I don't think she heard me. I opened the door for her and she walked in, and then shut the door behind me.
"Pippin?" I called for my best friend and cousin. I got no response. Estella shot me a questioning look.
"Probably over at Sam and Rosie's house. He can't cook for himself, so I usually do the cooking. I haven't been here lately in the mornings though, so he's relied on Rosie's cooking for awhile."
Guilt filled her eyes. "It's not your fault, Estella." I reassured her. She nodded slowly and yawned.
"You tired?" I asked, and she simply nodded. I showed her to the guest bedroom down the hallway from the kitchen. "You can sleep here." I offered, and she shot me a grateful look.
"Thank you Merry for everything." She whispered as she crawled into bed. I tucked the covers underneath her chin and was very careful of her sprained arm that was still in its sling. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then turned to leave the room so she could sleep in peace. I heard a soft whimper though, and turned back around.
"Please, stay with me till I fall asleep." She begged. Her fingers trembled with fear as I reached over to hold her hand.
"You're safe here, Estella." I promised her. She looked back up at me.
"Sing me a song, Merry. One from your adventure you went on." She requested. I almost laughed, telling her she didn't want to hear me sing until I saw the look in her eyes. Giving her a soft smile, I began to sing a song that would become Estella's favorite.
"Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
over death, over dread, over doom lifted
out of loss, out of life, unto long glory."
I explained that they the song we sang to lament the death of King Theoden. She asked me to tell her about the King, and I gladly obliged. Halfway through my story I noticed her breathing became deep and even. I squeezed her hand gently then let go, and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
I had things to do.
I threw on my cloak and wrote a short note to Estella just in case she woke up before I got back. I had to go out and stock up on more food, considering we also had Estella to support. Plus I decided to pick up some extra weed to soften up Pippin.
I reached the center of Buckland where the market was located. I grabbed the usual, with some extra weed. As I looked up after paying for my purchases, my eyes fell on Odovacar Bolger. Estella's father. My blood boiled in anger.
I then did something pretty irrational. I approached him in everybody's view. He eyed me suspiciously. "Meriadoc." He addressed me formally.
"Odovacar." I snapped back at him, my purchases dropping to the ground and forgotten. We stood there and glared at each other. I couldn't come up with anything to say, and he probably didn't exactly know why I was glaring at him.
Then Pippin totally blew it. He had found me in the market, and obviously he had been home before he found me. "Merry, why is Estella staying at our house?" He asked, coming up behind me.
Odovacar's eyes grew wide with anger. "You're the one." He hissed at me. Taking me totally by surprise he punched me in the nose and took off running. I fell to the ground dazed and confused. I heard Pippin's voice.
"Opps." Was all he could say. "What just happened?"
"Later, Pippin. I'll explain later." I scrambled up and started running back to my house. Odovacar was probably headed there, and the consequences would be awful if I didn't get there soon.
The door was wide open when I reached my house. I cursed underneath my breath and ran inside, fearing the worst.
Odovacar had Estella by her bad arm, and was twisting it as he yelled unspeakable names to her. She was whimpering in pain and tears stained her cheeks, but she had a look of submissiveness to her face.
"Leave her alone, Odovacar." I demanded, blood freely running down my face by now. He let go of Estella and she fell to the ground, holding her arm. He turned towards me, his look murderous.
"How dare you take my disobedient daughter from me." He growled, breathing heavily.
Anger flared up inside of me. "She came to me, because you scare her. She came to me for help." I stepped forward towards Estella, but he stopped me with his arm.
"Don't you dare get near her. When I get her home, I'll teach her to ever leave my house again." Estella looked pleadingly up at me, with tears in her eyes.
"You'll have to get through me first if you want to take her home." I challenged, sticking out my chest and sounding more confident then I felt.
Odovacar just laughed at me. "We'll see about that, young hobbit. Why stand up for my daughter? She is nothing to you."
"She is everything to me!" I shouted, shaking with anger. "I love her."
Estella looked fearfully at her father as I said that. Odovacar didn't respond to my proclamation, just yelled and charged towards me. He tried to punch me in the face again, but I ducked, anticipating it. He punched me again, and I felt pain surge up through my body. I glared up at him and retaliated, leaving him doubled over. I ran over to Estella.
"Are you alright?" I asked, helping her with her bad arm.
"Yes. Now I am." She said, giving me a small smile and a kiss on the cheek. I hugged her closely and nuzzled her hair, thinking about how precious she was to me.
Suddenly she cried out. "Merry! He's.."
But before she could even finish the sentence, my world turned black and the feeling of failure gripped my heart.
I didn't remember anything after that, but Estella filled me in with the details. Odovacar had hit me hard, and was about to drag Estella back to his house when Pippin showed up with about half the hobbits that lived in the Shire. They over powered Odovacar and restrained him. If it hadn't been for Pippin, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to Estella. Odovacar had then broke free of his restraints and ran away, deep into the Old Forest. Nobody knew where he went or where he ended up. Search parties were sent out, but to no avail. We haven't seen him for years now, and it was reported he might have been sighted in Bree. Hopefully he'll stay there. Estella said she could go her whole lifetime without seeing him again. And I agreed with her. We moved far away from her old house. But we did make sure there was a weeping willow in our yard for a slight sense of normalcy in our lives and something to remind us of the good times we had spent together.
Sitting on top of a grassy hill, I was taking a break from my Master duties. The memories of my wife's unfortunate past were haunting me again. Even on the brightest, sunniest days they still come back. I can only imagine what my wife Estella has to go through.
The Goodbodies were all spread out on the flat grass before me, arguing over who got the last piece of pie. Obviously these people never stop arguing. I chuckled softly and lit my pipe. The Goodbodies were in the middle of building another house, but they had disputes about dividing up the land. Since no one in their family wanted to give up land without a good fight, they had to call me in to divide it up for them. Even then they weren't satisfied, and claimed I should stay to be sure no one takes more land then they deserve.
Some people just give me headaches.
I leaned back on the grass and lit my pipe, closing my eyes and thinking of happier times. I was just slightly dozing when I heard Pippin's voice.
"Merry?" He called. I groaned and sat up.
"Pippin? What is it?" He ran up behind me, all out of breath.
"Go..home. Now." He panted between breaths.
"What's wrong?" I asked, fear gripping my heart.
"It's Estella."
I didn't let him finish his thought. I was up and running towards my house. I reached it in record time.
Sam was in front, holding his little girl, Elanor. He turned to face me. "Merry, thank goodness you're here. She keeps asking for you."
"What happened?" I asked, impatient. Elanor buried her face in her father's shoulder, softly crying.
"He came back." Sam said slowly. "Nobody knows where he is now, but Rosamunda is dead. It's a wonder Estella isn't either. Rosie and I showed up just in time."
I ran past Sam into my house, yelling for Estella. I heard Rosie's voice in the back room, responding to me.
I ran into our back room, and found Rosie sitting next to Estella, who was laying in bed. Looking barely alive.
I ran to Estella's side, taking her hand. "Estella. Estella, love, can you hear me?"
Rosie shook her head. "Don't wake her, Merry, please."
Tears I didn't know where there stained my cheeks. "Will she be alright?" I asked Rosie, trying to remain calm. I stroked Estella's pale cheeks softly with my hand.
"She'll be alright." Rosie said, looking at her hands as if she was trying to hide something. I turned to her, with an intense gaze.
"What aren't you telling me, Rosie?"
She sighed and looked up at me, with tears in her eyes. "She lost the baby."
That morning Estella stole off to my house instead of going to hers. She kept on glancing over her shoulder, as if she expected to be followed by somebody who would hurt her.
I placed my hand on her back and whispered comforting things in her ear, but I don't think she heard me. I opened the door for her and she walked in, and then shut the door behind me.
"Pippin?" I called for my best friend and cousin. I got no response. Estella shot me a questioning look.
"Probably over at Sam and Rosie's house. He can't cook for himself, so I usually do the cooking. I haven't been here lately in the mornings though, so he's relied on Rosie's cooking for awhile."
Guilt filled her eyes. "It's not your fault, Estella." I reassured her. She nodded slowly and yawned.
"You tired?" I asked, and she simply nodded. I showed her to the guest bedroom down the hallway from the kitchen. "You can sleep here." I offered, and she shot me a grateful look.
"Thank you Merry for everything." She whispered as she crawled into bed. I tucked the covers underneath her chin and was very careful of her sprained arm that was still in its sling. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then turned to leave the room so she could sleep in peace. I heard a soft whimper though, and turned back around.
"Please, stay with me till I fall asleep." She begged. Her fingers trembled with fear as I reached over to hold her hand.
"You're safe here, Estella." I promised her. She looked back up at me.
"Sing me a song, Merry. One from your adventure you went on." She requested. I almost laughed, telling her she didn't want to hear me sing until I saw the look in her eyes. Giving her a soft smile, I began to sing a song that would become Estella's favorite.
"Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
over death, over dread, over doom lifted
out of loss, out of life, unto long glory."
I explained that they the song we sang to lament the death of King Theoden. She asked me to tell her about the King, and I gladly obliged. Halfway through my story I noticed her breathing became deep and even. I squeezed her hand gently then let go, and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
I had things to do.
I threw on my cloak and wrote a short note to Estella just in case she woke up before I got back. I had to go out and stock up on more food, considering we also had Estella to support. Plus I decided to pick up some extra weed to soften up Pippin.
I reached the center of Buckland where the market was located. I grabbed the usual, with some extra weed. As I looked up after paying for my purchases, my eyes fell on Odovacar Bolger. Estella's father. My blood boiled in anger.
I then did something pretty irrational. I approached him in everybody's view. He eyed me suspiciously. "Meriadoc." He addressed me formally.
"Odovacar." I snapped back at him, my purchases dropping to the ground and forgotten. We stood there and glared at each other. I couldn't come up with anything to say, and he probably didn't exactly know why I was glaring at him.
Then Pippin totally blew it. He had found me in the market, and obviously he had been home before he found me. "Merry, why is Estella staying at our house?" He asked, coming up behind me.
Odovacar's eyes grew wide with anger. "You're the one." He hissed at me. Taking me totally by surprise he punched me in the nose and took off running. I fell to the ground dazed and confused. I heard Pippin's voice.
"Opps." Was all he could say. "What just happened?"
"Later, Pippin. I'll explain later." I scrambled up and started running back to my house. Odovacar was probably headed there, and the consequences would be awful if I didn't get there soon.
The door was wide open when I reached my house. I cursed underneath my breath and ran inside, fearing the worst.
Odovacar had Estella by her bad arm, and was twisting it as he yelled unspeakable names to her. She was whimpering in pain and tears stained her cheeks, but she had a look of submissiveness to her face.
"Leave her alone, Odovacar." I demanded, blood freely running down my face by now. He let go of Estella and she fell to the ground, holding her arm. He turned towards me, his look murderous.
"How dare you take my disobedient daughter from me." He growled, breathing heavily.
Anger flared up inside of me. "She came to me, because you scare her. She came to me for help." I stepped forward towards Estella, but he stopped me with his arm.
"Don't you dare get near her. When I get her home, I'll teach her to ever leave my house again." Estella looked pleadingly up at me, with tears in her eyes.
"You'll have to get through me first if you want to take her home." I challenged, sticking out my chest and sounding more confident then I felt.
Odovacar just laughed at me. "We'll see about that, young hobbit. Why stand up for my daughter? She is nothing to you."
"She is everything to me!" I shouted, shaking with anger. "I love her."
Estella looked fearfully at her father as I said that. Odovacar didn't respond to my proclamation, just yelled and charged towards me. He tried to punch me in the face again, but I ducked, anticipating it. He punched me again, and I felt pain surge up through my body. I glared up at him and retaliated, leaving him doubled over. I ran over to Estella.
"Are you alright?" I asked, helping her with her bad arm.
"Yes. Now I am." She said, giving me a small smile and a kiss on the cheek. I hugged her closely and nuzzled her hair, thinking about how precious she was to me.
Suddenly she cried out. "Merry! He's.."
But before she could even finish the sentence, my world turned black and the feeling of failure gripped my heart.
I didn't remember anything after that, but Estella filled me in with the details. Odovacar had hit me hard, and was about to drag Estella back to his house when Pippin showed up with about half the hobbits that lived in the Shire. They over powered Odovacar and restrained him. If it hadn't been for Pippin, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to Estella. Odovacar had then broke free of his restraints and ran away, deep into the Old Forest. Nobody knew where he went or where he ended up. Search parties were sent out, but to no avail. We haven't seen him for years now, and it was reported he might have been sighted in Bree. Hopefully he'll stay there. Estella said she could go her whole lifetime without seeing him again. And I agreed with her. We moved far away from her old house. But we did make sure there was a weeping willow in our yard for a slight sense of normalcy in our lives and something to remind us of the good times we had spent together.
Sitting on top of a grassy hill, I was taking a break from my Master duties. The memories of my wife's unfortunate past were haunting me again. Even on the brightest, sunniest days they still come back. I can only imagine what my wife Estella has to go through.
The Goodbodies were all spread out on the flat grass before me, arguing over who got the last piece of pie. Obviously these people never stop arguing. I chuckled softly and lit my pipe. The Goodbodies were in the middle of building another house, but they had disputes about dividing up the land. Since no one in their family wanted to give up land without a good fight, they had to call me in to divide it up for them. Even then they weren't satisfied, and claimed I should stay to be sure no one takes more land then they deserve.
Some people just give me headaches.
I leaned back on the grass and lit my pipe, closing my eyes and thinking of happier times. I was just slightly dozing when I heard Pippin's voice.
"Merry?" He called. I groaned and sat up.
"Pippin? What is it?" He ran up behind me, all out of breath.
"Go..home. Now." He panted between breaths.
"What's wrong?" I asked, fear gripping my heart.
"It's Estella."
I didn't let him finish his thought. I was up and running towards my house. I reached it in record time.
Sam was in front, holding his little girl, Elanor. He turned to face me. "Merry, thank goodness you're here. She keeps asking for you."
"What happened?" I asked, impatient. Elanor buried her face in her father's shoulder, softly crying.
"He came back." Sam said slowly. "Nobody knows where he is now, but Rosamunda is dead. It's a wonder Estella isn't either. Rosie and I showed up just in time."
I ran past Sam into my house, yelling for Estella. I heard Rosie's voice in the back room, responding to me.
I ran into our back room, and found Rosie sitting next to Estella, who was laying in bed. Looking barely alive.
I ran to Estella's side, taking her hand. "Estella. Estella, love, can you hear me?"
Rosie shook her head. "Don't wake her, Merry, please."
Tears I didn't know where there stained my cheeks. "Will she be alright?" I asked Rosie, trying to remain calm. I stroked Estella's pale cheeks softly with my hand.
"She'll be alright." Rosie said, looking at her hands as if she was trying to hide something. I turned to her, with an intense gaze.
"What aren't you telling me, Rosie?"
She sighed and looked up at me, with tears in her eyes. "She lost the baby."