Rating: PG
Summary: Merry deals with various crises—both internal and
external—while entertaining his wife's guests for a day. Pippin
(eventually) comes to the rescue, though the only person who can truly help
Merry is Merry himself.
Feedback: Constructive criticism is welcome. I attempt to keep as close
to book canon as possible. Ideas on how to improve in this area are
particularly welcome.
Disclaimer: The places, situations and characters of The Lord of the
Rings belong to the Tolkien Estate. This work contains no original
characters. No money is being made from this work.
The night before Estella became ill, a messenger from Thain Peregrin
had pulled up to Brandy Hall rather late, charged with delivering a report on
the borders to Master Meriadoc. Instead of sending the messenger back out into
the black of night, Master Merry offered a guest room at the Hall, which the
messenger gratefully accepted.
The messenger awoke of his own volition, and when he looked at the clock, he
was rather surprised to see how late in the morning it was. Having stayed on at
the Hall before, he knew that usually Master Meriadoc himself made rounds in
the guest halls to invite guests to breakfast. He washed up and made ready to
leave, but there was still no morning salutation from the Master. The situation
was rather peculiar—Merry was very dutiful.
The messenger began to worry that something was amiss at Brandy
Hall. He gathered his belongings and
stepped into the hallway. There, he stopped a servant and asked if the Master
was all right.
"Oh, Master Meriadoc is fine, but Mistress Estella is ill—not seriously
though—and he is presently occupied with her daily appointments. I have been
asked to invite all guests to the breakfast spread--and there is still plenty
there (she obviously saw the concern on the messenger's face). I would have
entered to wake you, but I don't believe it would have been proper..." the
girl trailed off, blushing.
"Think nothing of it, my dear," replied the messenger.
"I shall take you to the second dining hall. There will also be a note for
you from the Master, expressing his regrets that he could not be at breakfast
personally." She made down the corridor, and the messenger followed her.
'The boy is as gracious as his father and as conscientious as his grandfather,'
thought the messenger, who had been running messages between Brandy Hall and
Great Smials for decades, to himself.
He did not know Merry as well as he had known either Saradoc or Old
Rory—come to think of it, the list of people who knew Merry well was rather
short—but he was incredibly fond of him, and enjoyed spending time in his
company. He regretted that he would not
be able to chat with the young Master over breakfast today.
Although it was nearly time for second breakfast, there was still enough of the
fantastic breakfast spread that the messenger was able to eat far too much. It
was strangely quiet in Brandy Hall, and he was enjoying the peace. It was a venerable old place that had not
changed much as time passed. The world
was now in its Fourth Age, or so he was told, though to be honest, he couldn't
really tell much difference between the Third and the Fourth. Still, the walls of Brandy Hall looked the
same, and the view out of the window in this room was no different than it had
been thirty years ago—Merry's mother had always kept a garden that could be
seen from this room, and true to his nature, Merry had dutifully maintained it
as she herself kept it, even after her death.
He rested with his pipe, but was soon cognizant of the time, and
realized that he would have to ride hard and through all his shortcuts if he was
to return to Tuckborough before dark.
Bowing before the servant at the door of the dining hall, he started toward the
cloakroom. He passed the back entrance to one of the tea parlors, and he heard
female voices:
"I do say that Estella is the luckiest lass in the Shire."
"Though Master Peregrin would look a touch nicer in that dark colored
outfit..."
'Angelica Baggins and Melilot Brandybuck,' thought the messenger to himself.
'Let us see what the young Master has truly learned.'
He peered through the door cracks, and saw Master Meriadoc enter and sit down.
Both women fussed over him for a bit, and then began to talk, with him between
them. 'The boy looks miserable,' thought the messenger, 'I suppose he is less
of a hobbit in these situations without Mistress Estella.'
Again, the concept of time re-entered his head, and he bolted for the
cloakroom. Hastily taking his things, and making his way to the stables, where
his pony had been saddled up for quite some time, and the stablehands were
about to set out and search for him, he asked the head of the stables to send
compliments and well-wishes to the Master and Mistress, and set off at a good
canter in the direction of Great Smials.