The Forgotten Quest: Chapter Three

Author's Note: Okay, okay, I know this chapter is about half as long as the other ones, but they decide where they're going, which is pretty important so that's okay.  I loved writing the part about the sunrise….  I want to be an Entwife!  Oh yes, the term 'silent cloud' is from the Beatles song 'Julia'…very inspiring song, really.

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            Radagast sat back.  "Good.  Now all we must do is prepare for the journey and—more importantly—decide where to go first."

            Merry and Pippin's smiles faded.  They had not the slightest clue of where to travel.  Radagast raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  After a short silence, he looked at them.

            "Any ideas?" he asked.  Merry looked at Pippin, who shook his head.  Radagast sighed.  "Think back to every word Treebeard said to you.  There may be clues in his words."

            Merry leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees.  Pippin sat back and looked away.  "Well…he did say that the Entwives would have liked the Shire—" Merry mumbled uncertainly.

            Radagast nodded encouragingly.  "That's a start."

            Pippin leaned against the chair's arms and added, "What was her name…Fim-something—" Merry looked at him curiously.  "—Treebeard's Entwife!  What was it now…Fim-something—" Merry frowned.  "—Fimbrethil!  That is what it was.  We ought to ask for her; after all, she's the one Treebeard wants, especially, anyways," Pippin said.  The others nodded and there was another short silence.

            "Fangorn is marvelous…no other forest like it.  Of course, Greenwood is wonderful too, and slightly similar to Fangorn…but Fangorn is older, and more mysterious," Radagast commented slowly.

            "Greenwood?" asked Merry.

            "Mirkwood.  The Elves are renaming it."

            "Similar to Fangorn?  Mirkwood?"  Pippin questioned.

            "Yes, the two were connected once upon a time, and there was a huge forest that stretched from Mirkwood to the Shire, 'tis said."

            Merry sat up suddenly.  "To the Shire!  Pippin—" he turned to his friend "—Wouldn't the Entwives want to go to a place similar to Fangorn?"

            Pippin frowned, not catching on.  Merry pulled out a map of Middle-Earth and spread it on the table.  Obviously, something in his mind had clicked into place.  He continued, eyes glittering with excitement.  "There was a forest that joined Mirkwood and Fangorn long ago," He pointed to each forest.  Radagast leaned forward to see the map better, his eyes smiling and shining like the sun.  "It spread all the way to the Shire," He pointed to it.  "The Entwives would like a forest like Fangorn, don't you think, Pippin?"

            Pippin looked at the map closely.  "But, Merry, there are no forests in the Shire—" He looked where Merry's finger pointed.  There was Michel Delving, Hobbiton, Buckland, and Bree, which had hobbits in it, even if it was not part of the Shire because it was on the other side of—the Old Forest.  Pippin stared up into Merry's eager face.  "The Old Forest!  Merry, that is the only forest near the Shire!  It must have been part of that big forest long ago, so it is like Fangorn, a little bit, anyway.  That's where they must be!"

            Radagast smiled in that way that adults do while pretending that they already knew something a child has just pointed out.  Merry looked at Radagast, as if checking his guess.

            "The Old Forest, if I am correct, was part of the massive forest the covered most of Middle-Earth long ago.  If it was once connected to Fangorn, then the two forests could be similar," Radagast said.  "I do believe that the Entwives would like it."

            At the same time, both Merry and Pippin burst into huge, triumphant grins.  Pippin laughed suddenly.  "Do you think that the Entwives are the reason everyone's scared of the Old Forest?"

            "No," Merry shook his head, "Entwives aren't terribly scary, unless you think they're talking trees—which they're not, of course.  But Ents only step on things, I suppose.  I'd say the real reason is because of things like Old Man Willow."

            Pippin nodded, but his smile faded at the memory.  Before the hobbits had even gotten to Bree, they had had to go through the Old Forest.  They had sat down to nap, and Pippin had awoken to find himself half-inside a willow tree, apparently trying to eat the hobbits.  They had been saved by Tom Bombadil, a merry and musical man who lived in the Old Forest and happened to be walking by when he spotted the hobbits in trouble.

            As if reading his thoughts, Merry said, "Maybe we'll even get to see Tom Bombadil again.  You know, Radagast, he was not even affected by the Enemy's Ring.  He just acted like it was a simple trinket anyone could be carrying," he chuckled.

            Radagast smiled broadly.  "I have met Tom Bombadil before," he commented, "a long time ago.  But I have not met Old Man Willow.  I assume we should stay away from him on our travels."

            "Yes we should!"  Merry replied quickly.

            Pippin smiled.  The sun was low in the sky, and would soon set.  "Now that we know where to go, all that is left is to prepare for our journey."  Looking through the window, he added, "Let us begin with that first thing in the morning."  The others nodded.  Pippin suddenly stood up.  "How very unhobbit-like of me!  I have clean forgotten about dinner!  Merry, could you show Radagast the guest bedrooms?  If we are going to start first thing in the morning, you should stay here overnight.  You two get settled while I whip something up!"

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            Another beautiful sunrise began as that great, glowing orb rose from the ground, enlightening the night.  Rays of light touched the world, gently filling everything with pastel colors, bold colors, and nameless colors.  Solar beams slowly turned the whites and greys to blues and greens, and the blacks became browns.  Darkness—which had crept unbidden here hours ago—was driven back by the purity and brightness of the light, and shrank away to merely shadows, which also disappeared as the sun slowly rose higher into the sky.  It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen, surpassing all the others.  It felt magical, uplifting, and—most of all—hopeful.

            As I stood watching the light creep upon the silent clouds, I felt happier than I had been in a long time.  If only I could bottle this happiness, I thought, and when I am sad, I could uncork this bottle and release the happiness into the world.

            It was beautiful, but the sun—all too quickly—rose above the low-lying clouds and filled everything with color.

            My sunrise was over.

            The last early rays sent tingles up and down my body, and I breathed deeply.  The fragrant aroma, gently scenting the air, filled my mind, calmed my limbs, and refreshed my soul.  My mind and thoughts soared through the skies and heavens above, but I was brought back to the earth by a soft voice behind me, calling my name.  At first, I thought it was my beloved, but it was Her, the Golden One.

            She had been watching the sunrise from behind me.  She sighed, a combination of happiness, longing, regret, hope, sorrow, and awe.  I smiled.  I could not have said it better myself.