A/N: I love Merry and Pippin! ::sighs adoringly:: I own Eara Firestar, Sunmaiden, Stormling and Arella. In other words, anything you recognise belongs to J.R.R. Tolkein, the rest, including the plot, is mine. Sorry about the rubbish title.
Alliance of the New And Old by Rubii Firestorm
"I wonder why Elrond's sent for us?" Meriadoc Brandybuck pondered aloud, as he and his cousin, Peregrin Took, trudged through leaf mould on their way to Rivendell. Pippin shook his head.
"No idea, but I hope Elrond won't mind that Sam couldn't come along, what with Rosie going to give birth to the baby any day now." Merry just shrugged and the two carried on their way, lost in silent thoughts.
"What the-" Pippin started as Merry yanked him unceremoniously behind a particularly prickly holly bush, shushing him violently as he did so. Suddenly Pippin saw what had alarmed his cousin: suspiciously orc-like creatures were marching through the woods in what passed in orcs for silence: crashing through the undergrowth with only a steady murmur of complaint.
"Uh oh," muttered Merry suddenly. "I'm going to sneeze, Pip…"
Pippin groaned in despair. He knew Merry's sneezes- they were of the 'blow your brains out' kind and it was inevitable that the pair would be noticed. Sure enough-
"A-WHOOOOSH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" went ringing through the air and the previously peaceful glade was alive with snarling orcs. The two went for their swords but had their arms twisted, forcing them to drop them.
"Typical," sighed an impatient but friendly voice from behind them. "Just drop your swords, why don't you?" A youngish, pretty hobbit girl of about Merry and Pippin's age appeared from behind a nearby tree, whirling a loaded sling and brandishing a sword. Or was she a hobbit? Although her ears and height were correct for a hobbit, her feet were enclosed in sturdy fur lined boots, something no hobbit had ever worn, and she moved with a quickness, lightness and poised elegance that was very unusual in hobbits. Her hair was wavy, chestnut with golden tints where it had been bleached by the sun, and tied back from her face with a thin green leather strip and she wore a long green jerkin with a shortish skirt and thick black tights. A pale green mob cap with a blue feather stuck through it was perched at a jaunty angle on her head, her small hands were protected by dark green gloves and her eyes were large, catlike and green with amber flecks, flashing with temper and life. The black cape she wore was held with a silver and green elven clasp like the ones Merry and Pippin used, and her face was pointed, creamy and lightly sprinkled with freckles. She downed the two orcs holding Merry and Pippin captive without hesitation, the first with a blow from the loaded sling that she swung like a flexible club and the other with a quick slice from her sword. She leapt in front of the two hobbits, crouching in a fighters' stance.
"My Lord Elrond may have some small mercy upon your ugly selves if you were to back off. Now. Either that or you'll get picked off by a group of High Elven archers," she informed them. "One by disgusting, foul little one." One orc leered at her, his speech strangely grammatical for an orc.
"Well now, aren't you a pretty thing? The thing is, my dear, that you're not an elf, and therefore you have no protection from Lord Elrond. So what are we going to do with you?"
"I am at least one quarter elf," she growled in retaliation, looking as though she were about to spring at them. The other two hobbits glanced at each other- that would explain the boots. All the orcs took an automatic step backwards, but then closed in once more. It was obvious that even if Merry and Pippin had still had their weapons, none of the three would have stood a chance against so many orcs, but their mysterious friend still appeared to have the suicidal wish to attack. She sprang forwards so that the orcs moved backwards, then twisted 180 degrees in mid-air and grabbed Merry and Pippin's hands with a yell of "Run!" The three fled as one.
Despite being the quickest by far, their rescuer hung behind as they dashed headlong through the under growth, sending several well-aimed slingstones to their pursuers- Pippin thanked the gods there were no archers amongst the orcs. Suddenly another girl, unmistakeably an elf this time and a Rivendell elf at that, popped out from the undergrowth as they dashed pell-mell into a clearing where two horses, one a superb blue roan and the other pure white, grazed.
"Orcs," the hobbit-girl said succinctly, nodding behind her as she gasped for breath. Her elf-friend nodded, undoing her horse, the white one, in double quick time from where it had been tied by the reigns to a nearby tree. She grabbed Pippin by the shoulder surprisingly strongly, towing him over to the horse and giving him a foot up. She clambered up in front of him, as the hobbit girl did the same with Merry, clicking to their horses. Merry and Pippin wrapped their arms around the girls' waists and held on tight as the horses galloped away with the pursuing orcs not far behind and rapidly catching up.
The elf-girl led the two horses, her quick, sure hands handling the white horse marvellously, her balance perfect as she actually let go of the reins to turn round and fire several perfectly-aimed arrows at the orcs. The hobbit-girl just behind her was not such a good rider; she simply guided the horse slightly and otherwise gave it free rein, though she laughed with the thrill of the speed and the chase.
"Grab onto the reins with one hand!" she ordered Merry. When he did as she requested she took both hands off the horse's reins and twisted round in the saddle as her elf-friend did the same, the two uniting to fire arrows and sling stones at the orcs and making them fall back slightly. One orc, either braver or more stupid than his fellows, got close enough to clutch at Merry's sleeve and she moved to kill it but Merry got there first, slicing at the orc with one of his old, elvish daggers from the War of the Ring and the orc let go. The girl and Merry grinned at each other and she urged the horse into an even faster pace.
"Not much further!" called the elf. "Once we cross the river we'll be safe, my Father will sort those orcs."
"D'you reckon we'll make it?" asked her friend, glancing back once more at the ever-approaching orcs.
"We're going to have to, aren't we?" the elf replied, fear creeping into her previously confident voice for the first time.
"Come on Stormling," the hobbit coaxed her horse in Elvish, which Merry followed with difficulty. "Not much further now and we'll be safe. How's Sunmaiden bearing up?" she called to her friend.
"She'll be fine as long as we get to the ford soon," answered the elf.
"Oh gods… have you taken a look behind?" gasped the other. "We won't make it!"
The elf took a look behind as well and gave a small shriek of fright; the orcs were virtually touching the tail of the blue roan and the ford was still at least a minute away. It was obvious the riders would never make it and the two horses drew closer together. Merry swung a leg over the elf's horse and the hobbit-girl helped him then, when he was clinging safely to Pippin, she turned her horse sharply and drew her sword.
"I'll hold 'em off!" she snapped to her friend. "Get moving!"
"Good luck," the elfgirl told her simply in elvish and the white horse, Sunmaiden, drew away as the hobbit and Stormling wheeled to face the approaching menace.