A/N Don't kill the messenger! It's not me torturing them it's Saruman and co! (and the person I'm talking to, you know who you are)

The two hobbits was shoved into a room that looked as if it hadn't had any cleaning in a few years with nothing but a muffled instruction that "you'd better have it clean when I get back". Merry and Pippin looked at each other.

'I'm sure if we knew what we normally did in these situations it wouldn't be so hard,' Pippin sighed.

'Yes,' said Merry, 'but we'll just have to start over again. What do we "normally" do in these situations?' But Pippin had spotted something.

'We "normally" go talk to the nice lady outside the window!' Merry turned his head in the direction Pippin was going and saw Dunrâd's wife cutting the grass outside the door.

'Pssst,' said Pippin. The lady flinched and looked up. When she saw the hobbits in the window, she looked around her so that no one would come.

'Come down here, but quiet so that Dunrâd or Luanda won't hear.' The hobbits with her help climbed down. She leaned down to face them on the same level.

'I'm very sorry for what my husband has done. To take children for slaves, and then claiming they are not children! Tell me, where are your parents?'

'Erm,' said Merry, 'in fact, we are not...' Pippin poked him behind his back.

'Our parents are dead. We're brothers, eight years old. We were found by your husband in the wood when we were trying to get to our grandmother and aunt. They didn't know of our parents accident but they would let us stay there,' Pippin said. Merry just stared at him.

'You poor little things. I shall help you to get away, by all means that I can.'

'Tell me,' said Merry, who had regained his sense. 'How come you who are so nice married someone like Dunrâd?' She looked sad.

'He was nice back then. By the way, my name is Urëndi. What are your names?' The hobbit answered with saying Meriadoc and Peregrin, but added that they were more used to Merry and Pippin.

'...or even Pip,' finished Pippin with a smile. Urëndi leaned in and whispered silently.

'There's a high fence around the garden,' she said. 'I will lock it up for you but when you're out, by Elbereth be quick for if Dunrâd sees you, he will not be merciful.'

'One thing I'm wondering,' said Pippin as they swiftly and silently walked through the garden. 'If he is so mean to you, why does he take slaves? Why not just let you do all the work?' Urëndi looked at him with pity.

'You don't want to know.' Pippin decided to be satisfied with that answer. Urëndi opened the fence and looked at them.

'Goodbye my friends,' she said. 'I hope you find your grandmother.' Merry and Pippin nodded their goodbyes and turned around to leave. But they didn't get far. Hands gripped in both of their curly hairs and dragged them backwards.

'Don't try to escape!' Dunrâd shoved the halflings to his daughter while he confronted his wife.

'You, you worthless cow! You disgusting bitch! I shall cut you down to bits and pieces and you shall regret you were ever born!' And to Merry's and Pippin's horror, he took up a knife and stabbed it into Urëndi who gasping fell to the ground. He stabbed her several times until she was lying motionless. Tears were streaming down the cheeks of the two hobbits before it was all over. Luanda, on the other hand didn't seem affected by her mother's death. Dunrâd turned around.

'We shall be leaving tonight,' he said to Luanda. 'We can't stay here another day.' He left for the house but turned around again.

'And we'll be bringing those two with us!'

A/N short chapter sorry! And this is chapter 22 which is my lucky number so We'll be celebrating! *Hands out chocolate and champagne to everyone who reviewed*