The greatest tragedy
Author: Natta
Beta-reader: Gimli
Characters: Frodo, Merry, Sam
Summary: A great tragedy has happened in Brandy Hall and Frodo has to make a decision to bring a small hobbit to Bag End. For the good of this story, I've made Sam five years older so Frodo's 24, Sam's 17 and Merry's 10.
Chapter 3. Tuesday, caring and misunderstandings.
When Frodo woke up, Merry lay next to him, his thumb stuck up in his mouth. He hadn't woken up yet, so Frodo carefully climbed out of bed and got dressed. He had decided to let Merry sleep in his room last night because of the thunder, but soon he'd have to start sleeping in the other room Frodo had prepared. Frodo looked back at the child. He seemed so small and vulnerable as he was now, you could not imagine how he could wrestle with someone else until that someone was so tired he (or she) could hardly breathe and he never got tired! Frodo looked at him and wondered if he would ever be that happy again. Then he shook his head as to shake those thoughts away.
*Of course he'll be happy again,* he thought. *He is just a child, like I was and I got over it.* Then he sighed. *Though it will take time. An awful lot of time.* Merry stirred, as if waking up, and Frodo went to the bedside and smiled as he looked in the just awake, green-hazel eyes.
'Good morning. Want some breakfast?' Merry shook his head.
'Not hungry. I'd rather stay here.' Frodo sighed.
'Look, you have to eat. If you don't eat you'll...' Frodo stopped himself. He had often heard parents say to their children that they'd die if they didn't eat. However, that might not be the best way to put it, considering the circumstances.
'If I don't eat I'll what, Frodo?' He smiled
'Get hungry. Come on now!' Merry reluctantly followed Frodo into the kitchen, but they got no further from there. Suddenly, Sam came in.
'Hi, I thought I'd pay a visit. Is it all right?'
'Yes of course. Would you like some breakfast, or maybe it's second breakfast for you?' Sam gladly accepted and sat down.
'Hi, do you remember me from yesterday?' he said to Merry who looked shy and mumbled something that could've been a greeting. Sam started digging in on the food while Frodo tried to make Merry eat some and occasionally taking a mouthful himself.
'Come on Merry, you know you have to eat.'
'Not hungry. I don't want it.' Sam looked stunned and confused.
'You don't *want* it? Then I could take it,' he said, stretching out for the plate.
'Sam!' Frodo said, looking at him disbelievingly. Sam sank back in the couch, not understanding. At his home, if someone was stupid enough not wanting their food, someone would eat it quickly. They certainly didn't try to *make* someone eat, they were happy to get more to themselves. But maybe it was different in richer and more distinguished families. Frodo after a while gave up on trying to feed Merry and instead all three of them retired to the living room.
'Frodo?'
'Yes?'
'I...I'm sorry about that, I don't know what I was thinking, it's just...' Frodo smiled.
'It's okay Sam, it's just that I've got to get him to eat, and he'll die if he doesn't soon.' Sam's eyes widened with shock.
'Is it that bad? I had no idea!' Frodo put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
'No no, don't worry. I didn't mean that he's dying or something, just that he will if he doesn't start eating, but I'm sure he will, eating just doesn't feel important right now. Trust me, I went through the same thing when I was his age, a little older but still, I do recognise the signs.' Sam relaxed a bit.
'Well then, maybe we'll have to force-feed him,' he said jokingly, but Frodo appeared serious.
'I hope that we won't have to, but we might.' Sam decided to change the subject.'
'Let's go talk to him a bit, we might cheer him up.' Frodo smiled and nodded, though he strongly doubted it. Merry had seated himself in front of the fire, staring unseeingly into the flames. Frodo sat down beside him and started to comb out Merry's tangled hair with his fingers. He usually hated it when someone did that, but this time, he didn't seem to notice. Sam playfully moved his hand up and down before Merry's eyes, which made him look up.
'Hey. Wanna see a trick?' Merry didn't answer, he just looked at Sam as if he was waiting. Sam took it as a yes. He took a coin between his fingers, put the other hand over it, dropped it and caught it secretly and...his hands was empty.
Merry watched in awe and when it was all over, he gave a sweet giggle. Frodo looked at Sam and mouthed:
'Good work.'
****
Frodo, Merry and Sam had been sitting in the room for a while and chatting (or rather Frodo and Sam had been chatting and occasionally tried to pull Merry into the conversation) and Merry seemed to listen at least to what they were saying.
*Good,* Frodo thought. *He needs to see there are still many people who care about him and not completely turn away from the world.*
'Hey, I think it's time for elevensies! We've completely missed second breakfast.' Merry followed the elder hobbits into the kitchen, but didn't look very excited about it. Frodo made mushrooms, a treat he knew Merry loved, just like all hobbits. However, Merry only picked on his food without putting any in his mouth. After a while, Sam leaned over.
'You know, I've met some people who are really poor, they have nearly no money at all. They are happy if they get one meal a day, and they are always hungry.' Merry looked up at him.
'You mean they have no food?' Sam nodded, happy that he had made his point.
Merry seemed to ponder this for a while and then took his tray and left for the door.
'Hey, where are you going,' asked Frodo. Merry stopped and turned.
'To give the poor people my food, so they won't be hungry and starving anymore.' Sam groaned. Apparently, Merry didn't get the point.
'No, not now, come on and get back here. We can go down there later and perhaps give them some food.' Merry seemed to accept that and got back to the table, but he still didn't ate anything. Sam shrugged.
'Sorry,' he whispered. Frodo smiled.
'You tried.' Merry looked up.
'Can I have a glass of water?' Sam rose.
'I'll get it, I need one too. I'm dying of thirst.' He stopped dead in his tracks and could've slapped himself. To talk about death, even in a joke was forbidden when Merry was there. The little hobbit curled up in a ball. Both Frodo and Sam was were immediately there for comfort, but apparently, he didn't want it cause he pulled them both away and left the room.
'I'm very sorry, I shouldn't have...' Frodo smiled but the smile was more forced now.
'It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known that was the way they died.' Sam gasped.
'Oh no, not that too! I'm really sorry.'
'That's okay, but maybe you should leave now so that he can calm down a little.' Sam nodded and walked outside. It was pretty cold, but he lived nearby, so it didn't really matter. He started to walk down the road.
****
'Come on Merry, get out from there!' Merry had hid himself under the covers, shaking with sobs and refusing to get out.
'Merry, it might feel better if you talked about it, rather than hiding away.' He was surprised when he saw a flushed and slightly swollen face appeared.
'Frodo, is it very horrible to die from thirst?'
'No, in fact not at all, it's more like floating away in a pleasurable dream.' Frodo knew he was lying, but couldn't say anything else.
'But I'll never see them again!' He started shivering, and Frodo embraced him warmly.
'Yes you will. Bilbo told me about a place called Valinor, where the souls of dead people go. There you can see them again, but let's hope that'll be a while.' Frodo tried to recall all he had heard about the Valar's kingdom, but left out the fact that only elves go there. Merry watched him and listened in awe to every word. Heh. 'So you mean when I die, I can see them there?'
'Yes, at least I think so.' Merry pondered on this for a while.
'Then maybe I should hurry up with dying.' Frodo realised the negative side of the story now, the child might try to kill himself.
'No don't,' he reassured, 'For in Valinor, you spend all eternity, so there's no hurry getting there!'
'Okay. So I might as well stay here a while longer?' Frodo nodded, thankful for that.
****
At dinner, Merry actually ate some of the pie Frodo had made, very little, but still something! Frodo almost jumped in joy when he saw it, but contained himself. After they had finished dinner, Frodo went down on his knees so they were on the same level.
'Want to fly some?' Merry frowned.
'What do you mean?'
'If you sit on my shoulders, I could run around the room, and it would feel just like flying! So, what do you say?'
'No...that's what daddy used to do.' He again curled himself up in a ball and started to cry. Frodo sighed and tried to cheer him up again like he used to. He hugged him, whispered comforting words in his ear, but this time, nothing worked. After almost half an hour had passed, Frodo got irritated and rose.
'All right! If you want to sit there and cry, do so then! 'Cause I'm fed up with this, goodbye!' And with those words, Frodo left Bag End, hoping that some fresh air might calm him down. When he had walked down the road a few minutes, he met Sam, who as ever was gardening. When he saw Frodo, he rose and came to the gate to greet him.
'Hi Frodo! How's Merry doing?' Frodo looked at him, the irritation hadn't left him yet.
'Just drop it, you're the one who upsets him and I have to calm him down, which is an impossible work! Leave me alone, I'm tired of both of you!' Sam looked perplexed and hurt but also a little worried about Merry, who was probably alone right now, but decided it was none of his business and that he couldn't go to Bag End uninvited.
Frodo didn't know what to do, so he went to a pub, but didn't buy anything. The lady next to him addressed him.
'Hello. How's young Meriadoc doing?' Frodo sighed.
'I don't know what to do, I can't get him to stop crying all the time.'
'Maybe you shouldn't. I mean, you're just a tween, and I know it's frustrating, but he's a child who has just lost his parents. He has the right to be sad, he needs to be sad right now. It'll pass, but don't try to make him stop, just give him a shoulder to cry on or simply leave him alone, you have to follow your intuition on that one.' Frodo looked at her. He actually hadn't thought of it that way.
'Thank you very much. Now, if you excuse me, I've got to go home. I've made a mistake.' The lady smiled and said her goodbyes. Frodo rushed home. It was dark and he cursed himself for being so stupid. When he entered, he saw Merry sitting by the fire, curled up, hugging himself and shivering, by sobbing or by cold, Frodo didn't know. He appeared afraid though, it was very dark outside, late night for a ten-year-old. He approached him and embraced him tightly.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'Truly sorry.' Merry seemed to accept his apology, because he returned the hug. Frodo put his cousin in his lap, wrapped him up in a blanket and rocked him slowly while singing a song he once had sung to Merry when he had had a bad dream. It took only minutes until he was asleep, and Frodo carried him away and put him in bed. Another day had passed.
~TBC~
A/N My chapters keeps getting longer and longer lol! I might not update V. often now, since I'm working on a script for a movie, it's based on "Stories only walls can tell", another fic you can read here, but I've changed quite a lot. Anyway, now you'll know why.
Author: Natta
Beta-reader: Gimli
Characters: Frodo, Merry, Sam
Summary: A great tragedy has happened in Brandy Hall and Frodo has to make a decision to bring a small hobbit to Bag End. For the good of this story, I've made Sam five years older so Frodo's 24, Sam's 17 and Merry's 10.
Chapter 3. Tuesday, caring and misunderstandings.
When Frodo woke up, Merry lay next to him, his thumb stuck up in his mouth. He hadn't woken up yet, so Frodo carefully climbed out of bed and got dressed. He had decided to let Merry sleep in his room last night because of the thunder, but soon he'd have to start sleeping in the other room Frodo had prepared. Frodo looked back at the child. He seemed so small and vulnerable as he was now, you could not imagine how he could wrestle with someone else until that someone was so tired he (or she) could hardly breathe and he never got tired! Frodo looked at him and wondered if he would ever be that happy again. Then he shook his head as to shake those thoughts away.
*Of course he'll be happy again,* he thought. *He is just a child, like I was and I got over it.* Then he sighed. *Though it will take time. An awful lot of time.* Merry stirred, as if waking up, and Frodo went to the bedside and smiled as he looked in the just awake, green-hazel eyes.
'Good morning. Want some breakfast?' Merry shook his head.
'Not hungry. I'd rather stay here.' Frodo sighed.
'Look, you have to eat. If you don't eat you'll...' Frodo stopped himself. He had often heard parents say to their children that they'd die if they didn't eat. However, that might not be the best way to put it, considering the circumstances.
'If I don't eat I'll what, Frodo?' He smiled
'Get hungry. Come on now!' Merry reluctantly followed Frodo into the kitchen, but they got no further from there. Suddenly, Sam came in.
'Hi, I thought I'd pay a visit. Is it all right?'
'Yes of course. Would you like some breakfast, or maybe it's second breakfast for you?' Sam gladly accepted and sat down.
'Hi, do you remember me from yesterday?' he said to Merry who looked shy and mumbled something that could've been a greeting. Sam started digging in on the food while Frodo tried to make Merry eat some and occasionally taking a mouthful himself.
'Come on Merry, you know you have to eat.'
'Not hungry. I don't want it.' Sam looked stunned and confused.
'You don't *want* it? Then I could take it,' he said, stretching out for the plate.
'Sam!' Frodo said, looking at him disbelievingly. Sam sank back in the couch, not understanding. At his home, if someone was stupid enough not wanting their food, someone would eat it quickly. They certainly didn't try to *make* someone eat, they were happy to get more to themselves. But maybe it was different in richer and more distinguished families. Frodo after a while gave up on trying to feed Merry and instead all three of them retired to the living room.
'Frodo?'
'Yes?'
'I...I'm sorry about that, I don't know what I was thinking, it's just...' Frodo smiled.
'It's okay Sam, it's just that I've got to get him to eat, and he'll die if he doesn't soon.' Sam's eyes widened with shock.
'Is it that bad? I had no idea!' Frodo put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
'No no, don't worry. I didn't mean that he's dying or something, just that he will if he doesn't start eating, but I'm sure he will, eating just doesn't feel important right now. Trust me, I went through the same thing when I was his age, a little older but still, I do recognise the signs.' Sam relaxed a bit.
'Well then, maybe we'll have to force-feed him,' he said jokingly, but Frodo appeared serious.
'I hope that we won't have to, but we might.' Sam decided to change the subject.'
'Let's go talk to him a bit, we might cheer him up.' Frodo smiled and nodded, though he strongly doubted it. Merry had seated himself in front of the fire, staring unseeingly into the flames. Frodo sat down beside him and started to comb out Merry's tangled hair with his fingers. He usually hated it when someone did that, but this time, he didn't seem to notice. Sam playfully moved his hand up and down before Merry's eyes, which made him look up.
'Hey. Wanna see a trick?' Merry didn't answer, he just looked at Sam as if he was waiting. Sam took it as a yes. He took a coin between his fingers, put the other hand over it, dropped it and caught it secretly and...his hands was empty.
Merry watched in awe and when it was all over, he gave a sweet giggle. Frodo looked at Sam and mouthed:
'Good work.'
****
Frodo, Merry and Sam had been sitting in the room for a while and chatting (or rather Frodo and Sam had been chatting and occasionally tried to pull Merry into the conversation) and Merry seemed to listen at least to what they were saying.
*Good,* Frodo thought. *He needs to see there are still many people who care about him and not completely turn away from the world.*
'Hey, I think it's time for elevensies! We've completely missed second breakfast.' Merry followed the elder hobbits into the kitchen, but didn't look very excited about it. Frodo made mushrooms, a treat he knew Merry loved, just like all hobbits. However, Merry only picked on his food without putting any in his mouth. After a while, Sam leaned over.
'You know, I've met some people who are really poor, they have nearly no money at all. They are happy if they get one meal a day, and they are always hungry.' Merry looked up at him.
'You mean they have no food?' Sam nodded, happy that he had made his point.
Merry seemed to ponder this for a while and then took his tray and left for the door.
'Hey, where are you going,' asked Frodo. Merry stopped and turned.
'To give the poor people my food, so they won't be hungry and starving anymore.' Sam groaned. Apparently, Merry didn't get the point.
'No, not now, come on and get back here. We can go down there later and perhaps give them some food.' Merry seemed to accept that and got back to the table, but he still didn't ate anything. Sam shrugged.
'Sorry,' he whispered. Frodo smiled.
'You tried.' Merry looked up.
'Can I have a glass of water?' Sam rose.
'I'll get it, I need one too. I'm dying of thirst.' He stopped dead in his tracks and could've slapped himself. To talk about death, even in a joke was forbidden when Merry was there. The little hobbit curled up in a ball. Both Frodo and Sam was were immediately there for comfort, but apparently, he didn't want it cause he pulled them both away and left the room.
'I'm very sorry, I shouldn't have...' Frodo smiled but the smile was more forced now.
'It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known that was the way they died.' Sam gasped.
'Oh no, not that too! I'm really sorry.'
'That's okay, but maybe you should leave now so that he can calm down a little.' Sam nodded and walked outside. It was pretty cold, but he lived nearby, so it didn't really matter. He started to walk down the road.
****
'Come on Merry, get out from there!' Merry had hid himself under the covers, shaking with sobs and refusing to get out.
'Merry, it might feel better if you talked about it, rather than hiding away.' He was surprised when he saw a flushed and slightly swollen face appeared.
'Frodo, is it very horrible to die from thirst?'
'No, in fact not at all, it's more like floating away in a pleasurable dream.' Frodo knew he was lying, but couldn't say anything else.
'But I'll never see them again!' He started shivering, and Frodo embraced him warmly.
'Yes you will. Bilbo told me about a place called Valinor, where the souls of dead people go. There you can see them again, but let's hope that'll be a while.' Frodo tried to recall all he had heard about the Valar's kingdom, but left out the fact that only elves go there. Merry watched him and listened in awe to every word. Heh. 'So you mean when I die, I can see them there?'
'Yes, at least I think so.' Merry pondered on this for a while.
'Then maybe I should hurry up with dying.' Frodo realised the negative side of the story now, the child might try to kill himself.
'No don't,' he reassured, 'For in Valinor, you spend all eternity, so there's no hurry getting there!'
'Okay. So I might as well stay here a while longer?' Frodo nodded, thankful for that.
****
At dinner, Merry actually ate some of the pie Frodo had made, very little, but still something! Frodo almost jumped in joy when he saw it, but contained himself. After they had finished dinner, Frodo went down on his knees so they were on the same level.
'Want to fly some?' Merry frowned.
'What do you mean?'
'If you sit on my shoulders, I could run around the room, and it would feel just like flying! So, what do you say?'
'No...that's what daddy used to do.' He again curled himself up in a ball and started to cry. Frodo sighed and tried to cheer him up again like he used to. He hugged him, whispered comforting words in his ear, but this time, nothing worked. After almost half an hour had passed, Frodo got irritated and rose.
'All right! If you want to sit there and cry, do so then! 'Cause I'm fed up with this, goodbye!' And with those words, Frodo left Bag End, hoping that some fresh air might calm him down. When he had walked down the road a few minutes, he met Sam, who as ever was gardening. When he saw Frodo, he rose and came to the gate to greet him.
'Hi Frodo! How's Merry doing?' Frodo looked at him, the irritation hadn't left him yet.
'Just drop it, you're the one who upsets him and I have to calm him down, which is an impossible work! Leave me alone, I'm tired of both of you!' Sam looked perplexed and hurt but also a little worried about Merry, who was probably alone right now, but decided it was none of his business and that he couldn't go to Bag End uninvited.
Frodo didn't know what to do, so he went to a pub, but didn't buy anything. The lady next to him addressed him.
'Hello. How's young Meriadoc doing?' Frodo sighed.
'I don't know what to do, I can't get him to stop crying all the time.'
'Maybe you shouldn't. I mean, you're just a tween, and I know it's frustrating, but he's a child who has just lost his parents. He has the right to be sad, he needs to be sad right now. It'll pass, but don't try to make him stop, just give him a shoulder to cry on or simply leave him alone, you have to follow your intuition on that one.' Frodo looked at her. He actually hadn't thought of it that way.
'Thank you very much. Now, if you excuse me, I've got to go home. I've made a mistake.' The lady smiled and said her goodbyes. Frodo rushed home. It was dark and he cursed himself for being so stupid. When he entered, he saw Merry sitting by the fire, curled up, hugging himself and shivering, by sobbing or by cold, Frodo didn't know. He appeared afraid though, it was very dark outside, late night for a ten-year-old. He approached him and embraced him tightly.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'Truly sorry.' Merry seemed to accept his apology, because he returned the hug. Frodo put his cousin in his lap, wrapped him up in a blanket and rocked him slowly while singing a song he once had sung to Merry when he had had a bad dream. It took only minutes until he was asleep, and Frodo carried him away and put him in bed. Another day had passed.
~TBC~
A/N My chapters keeps getting longer and longer lol! I might not update V. often now, since I'm working on a script for a movie, it's based on "Stories only walls can tell", another fic you can read here, but I've changed quite a lot. Anyway, now you'll know why.
