Chapter 21

Awakening

Lonely Mountain stood before Gimli as he looked upon the mountain of his boyhood. He knew all the secret caves, corridors and endless staircases leading throughout the entire mine.

He had not been home in over four years since he set out on the mission to destroy the ring. When he seen the mines of Moria destroyed and the death of all the family and friends that lived in those mines. Gimli felt he needed to set things right again and restore those mines back to their original beauty. With the orcs now dead that lived in Moria, his mission was now complete. He could return back to his father with pride.

He walked behind the thick bushes that covered the entrance of the Lonely Mountain. The guards took notice when Gimli, son of Gloin returned home. Word spread fast throughout the corridors as one dwarf told another of Gimli's approach. He handed the reins of his donkey to one of the servants and untied the packs the donkey carried. Placing them over his shoulder and grabbing his ax in the other hand, he headed down the long corridor to his father's lodging. The dwarves nodded and waved as he passed them. With each step Gimli took, he anticipated seeing his father and Bombur, two of the noblest dwarves that had ever dwelt in the mines of the Lonely Mountain.

He stood before the great door of his father's lodge and only paused for just a moment. Pushing the two large doors opened he entered. Bombur sat in a tall covered chair smoking his pipe. The blue-gray smoke swirled around the ancient dwarf's head. The long, thinned-out, white whiskers of the dwarf and the frail hand that rested on the arm of the chair, sat quietly as he looked up at Gimli. A slight smile of recognition slowly broke the old dwarf's face.

"Gimli, you have returned." He said quietly in a weak tone of voice.

This was not the Bombur that Gimli had once known. Age had finally caught up with the once boisterous dwarf. Bombur used to be the tallest and the most stout dwarf that Gimli had ever known. Bombur's adventures were legendary throughout the mines of the Lonely Mountain. Many tales he told of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and the gray wizard called Gandalf. That was in his younger days some seventy years ago. Gimli never tired of hearing the tales over and over again. Gimli looked up to Bombur with awe and respect.

"Yes, Bombur, I have finally come home, and I have much to tell you and my father. Where is he?"

"He is still asleep, my lad. After he eats his noon meal, he tends to need more rest as the afternoon progresses on." Bombur said as he continued after a brief pause, "Come sit with me and tell me all that you have done."

This was Gimli's most shining moment as he talked the afternoon away, telling him all the tales of his adventures. Bombur listened intently and with much pride for Gimli.

~*~

Four days has passed; Legolas and Aragorn had gotten some of the miniature horses from the hidden valley and made a makeshift corral from the thicker branches of the trees. Some of the Mirkwood elves helped in building this for Legolas and Aragorn. They roped each horse and walked them out of the hidden valley, but they could not catch the stallion that Merry wanted most of all. They would save him for last.

The sun broke from the eastern horizon and drove the darkness away to morning light. The birds began singing in greeting the new day as they fluttered from tree branch to tree branch. The neighing of the miniature horses echoed throughout the camp as if they were calling for their morning ration of fresh cut grass, covered in morning dew.

One of the miniature horses breathing came in hard, groan panting as she lay on her side in laboring pain. Legolas woke from a restful sleep wrapped warmly in his blankets. Like every morning when he awoken, Legolas straighten his blankets neatly and began to dress. Opening the tent flap, he heard the faint moan coming from the coral of the miniature horses. He knew one of them suffered. Awakening Aragorn, he beckoned him to follow him to the horses.

The palomino fought to stand being in fear of the man that approached her. However, she was unable too. She snorted and neighed trying to frighten the approaching being. She pawed her hooves with the last of her strength as Aragorn kneeled beside her and reaching out his hand, he gently stroked her. The palomino could sense the gentle spirit of this one man and calmed in knowing he would help her.

Aragorn examined the horse and knew her colt inside her was turned the wrong way. He reached inside the horse, finding the back legs and pulled the colt gently, helping it to be born. With it's birth the palomino stood up weakly as Aragorn and Legolas backed up, so his mother could lick clean the new born colt.

They both laughed seeing the small little colt, which size was equal of a small wet dog with long, gangling, thin legs that did not seem to match in proportion to its body. With each lick from its mother and colt tried to stand only to fall back on to its legs. The small colt raised its butt again, getting his hind legs underneath him and then pushing up from its front legs. Within minutes the colt stood on all four legs that weakly shook. The colt was a blue-gray coloring with shadow spots on its backside. It had a dark black nose with matching black feet. It struggled to take its first steps towards his mother. With the morning breeze that gently blew, slowly began drying the soft fluffy fur that glisten in the sunlight. Even the short main became a fluffy ball of glisten fur. The soft dark brown eyes seemed huge against the small miniature face of this beautiful little colt. Slowly the colt approached its mother and began nursing.

"That little one has spirit." Legolas commented to Aragorn.

"That he does. Merry will have a strong breed of horses to bring back to Buckland," Aragorn told him and continued, "I will see to Nibs next, as this is the fifth day and he should be awakening soon. He is going to need our strength in dealing with what he will wake up too. The loss of his hand is going to be hard for him to take."

Estella was already changing Nibs' bandages when Aragorn walked into the tent. He told the hobbits of the new birth of a colt in the corral and they all ran to see it.

"How is he doing Estella?" Aragorn asked. "He still sleeps, but seems to be resting peacefully." She answered him.

She dipped the medicine pouch into the tea and placed it into his mouth. "That pouch will help take the pain away and make his awakening easier to bear." Aragorn told her. "He is lucky that his hand was cut clean and no infection has taken him. He is a strong fighter and should come through all of this just fine."

Estella was happy to hear that Nibs would be awakening today and how well he was fairing in his healing, but she also looked forward to seeing Merry awaken as well. However, Aragorn could not tell her when, as he did with Nibs.

"Legolas and I will stay in camp today and if he awakens, call me right away. I will be taking care of the new horses."

Merry could hear the sound of Aragorn's voice and he tried to force his eyes open, but he was unable. His body felt heavy and unable to even move a single finger. He lay there motionless only able to hear the sounds of the camp around him. He would drift from deep sleep to alertness only in his mind.

Estella approached Merry and looking down into his beautiful face. She gently lifted a few strands of his hair from his forehead and her thoughts carried her away to her feelings she had for him. Pippin's voice echoed in her mind as she remembered what he told her to tell Merry how she truly felt.

'How could I, Pippin? When I know in my heart that Merry would never love me in return,' she thought. But still Merry is in a deep sleep and would never hear her. She began to speak of her love for him while he slept.

"I remember the day that I met you, long ago, when we were just very young children. Knowing you are a Brandybuck and destined to become the Master of Buckland, I thought you were going to be uppity and cruel. Instead I found you caring and kind. You touched my heart when Da brought rabbits home for supper and seeing them dead, you cried. I wanted to hug you, to stop your tears. You pulled my braids to keep me from touching you. You hurt me and made me cry. When we got older and I would see you in Hobbiton, with Frodo and Pippin, laughing and snatching an apple from old Maggot's vegetable stand, you would pass me by. I would try to talk to you, but you only kept walking, all the while my heart would be breaking. I remember that when old Bilbo had his grand party, where Freddie and I would be sitting at a table, you would pull him away to join you but never invited me. I loved you even then, Merry. You went away and word got back of you passing on to death, laying dead in the Old Forest or some foreign lands. I felt my heart being ripped from my very soul. Then the day came when I heard your horn blowing to wake everyone to fight for the Shire and seeing you sit on your horse before my eyes. I fell to my knees sobbing in thankfulness of your safe return and I knew my love for you would never die. Seeing you at Diamond's that night I knew you finally saw me for the first time and our hearts were drawn to each other. When you became sick and close to your death, my soul began to died along side of you. I love you, Merry. I will always love you." Estella's tear fell from her eyes.

Nibs moaned loudly, and he brought his arm up as his eyes opened. Estella wiped the tears from her eyes and ran to get Aragorn.

A single unnoticed tear fell from the corner of Merry's eyes.