Chapter 3

//Frodo was six again and felt very warm. He felt being rocking back

and forth. Oh, he was in his mummy's arms. He closed his eyes

peacefully. But suddenly he felt a chilly breeze blowing against

his face. Why?? Why?! He protested silently and glanced up at his

mother - // But she was not his mother! In fact, it was not a she at all! From

their faces Frodo recognized Merry and Pippin. He hadn't been fully

aware of what was happening and he was even more confused to see the

dark sky above and the sound of water splashes every now and then.

In the midst of his confusion, he tried to sit down from his lying-

on-his- side position, but he found it impossible. It was then Frodo

remembered that his hands were tied behind his back. Memories came rushing back to his brain. He remembered how Pippin

had hit Sam so hard that he had instantly killed Frodo's loyal

gardener. Frodo cringed as he recalled Merry's mindless cruelty

towards him). The ring, yes. It had to be because of that. Oh, how Frodo wished he could go back to his unconscious state where

there was his mother's warm embrace and love. He shut his eyes

tightly, trying to restrain the tears that threatened to spill.

Frodo drew his breath as silently as possible so Merry wouldn't be

aware that he had woken. The ferry floated along the Brandywine River for a couple more

minutes before it finally drew to a stop. Frodo still didn't move.

Pippin roughly grabbed Frodo's cloak to force the groggy hobbit to

his feet. Frodo raised with great difficulty and finally succeeded

after Merry, growing impatient, tugged him up too. "We are going to get into Bree," said Merry. "But you are not

supposed to say anything. I will. If you still try to speak," he

threatened, "remember that Pippin's dagger is at your back." Pippin emphasized this last threat with a short, sharp "warning"

poke of the dagger into the small of Frodo's back. Frodo gasped in

shock, then fell silent. It was too much for Frodo. Frodo could not believe any of this was

happening. Not in his wildest dreams could he believe that he could

come to such misery by his own cousins' hands! He stared at Merry,

hard and stubbornly. Still, Frodo was a pitiful sight. His pallid

face darkened with black and blue bruises did not make for an

intimidating impression. "Come on!" Merry ordered as he took Frodo's arm roughly and Pippin

nudged him from the back. Frodo stumbled forward. In front of the gate, Merry talked to the guard through a small

square hole. Frodo couldn't do anything to attract the guard's

attention with the tip of Pippin's dagger at his back. Besides, he

realized that his cousins had hidden Frodo's bound hands behind his

cloak so he just appeared to be clasping his hands behind his back. When the guard finally opened the gate, Frodo was again pushed and

pulled by his two cousins. He tried in vain to attract the door

warden's attention by blinking his eyes. But the guard didn't seem

to notice, much to Frodo's dismay. Merry, however, did notice. He

tugged at Frodo almost violently. "Don't try to do something you will regret, cousin," he hissed. "I won't - " But finally Frodo gave up. After a couple of minutes stumbling along the muddy road, Frodo saw

the sign of Prancing Pony Inn, where he was supposed to meet

Gandalf. He was torn between two options, telling Merry about the

inn, or not telling him. If he told Merry, there was a possibility

that he would meet Gandalf and be rescued. But it was still an

unpredictable situation fraught with risk. What if Merry found out

about the ring and ran away with it? This was definitely something

that Frodo didn't want to happen. Frodo decided to try his luck. He called Merry softly.

"Uh...Merry-?" "What?!" "I'm supposed to meet Gandalf there, in the Prancing Pony," Frodo

pronounced, haltingly. Merry stopped walking and seemed to muse for

a while. "Gandalf, eh?" he said a moment later. "Do you think I'm that stupid

to follow you inside to 'meet' Gandalf?!" he punctuated the word

meet as if he were mocking Frodo. Gandalf-- whom you can ask for

help!" Frodo panicked. He shook his head. "No! I didn't mean that. It was

just the agreement. I am to meet him there. Otherwise, he might

think that I'm in trouble." Which he really was. Pippin, who in the meantime was alert, tugged Merry's sleeve. "We'd

better not get in. All those big people, and we are alone. It's

too risky." That was exactly Merry's fear. But he finally made a decision. "We go in, but just briefly. We will ask for Gandalf but when the

wizard shows up, you, Pippin, quickly bring Frodo out of there. All

right?" instructed Merry. Pippin nodded. Frodo sighed. Merry looked

at Frodo suspiciously but didn't say anything. Merry pushed the big door open and stepped in with Frodo still in

his clutch. Pippin followed. They approached the man behind the

counter, Butterbur. The counter was taller than they were so Merry

had to hold his head high enough to be able to see Butterbur. He

inquired about Gandalf. But after recollecting for a moment,

Butterbur answered that he hadn't seen the wizard for quite a long

time. Frodo seemed to be taken aback. All his hopes vanished. What could

he do now? But what Frodo and his cousins did not observe were the pair of eyes

taking in all of their behavior. Sitting in a dark corner with his

pipe, Strider, a ranger requested by Gandalf to meet a particular

hobbit, looked at them with great interest. "He has dark curly hair and much fairer than most." That was what

Gandalf told him. He also noticed now the elvish air in him. But

when Strider looked more closely, he gasped. What was that on the

face? Bruises? How on earth could he get bruises? Had he fallen

down? "or what? is modern Strider stood up to approach the little

ones. He barely caught the argument among them. "We can't stay here!" insisted Merry. "Let's go out and find another

inn. I'm sure there are some out there built especially for hobbits." Frodo refused to move. He didn't know why but his gut told him to

stay. He wrenched himself free from Merry's grip and dashed across

the floor. Strider stood in amazement. He was becoming more

suspicious with every passing moment. Meanwhile, Pippin didn't just stand still. He leaped after Frodo and

seized the back of his cloak. Frodo jerked and toppled back. The

direction was unfortunate, as he fell with full force on his own

bound hands. Frodo felt like all the bones of his wrists and hands

were cracked. He shrieked hopelessly. His breaths were ragged. The

pain was so searing that it made Frodo want to vomit. Strider moved quickly. Something was very wrong here. The little

hobbit was definitely in distress. But he was not quick enough. The two other hobbits quickly picked

him up - and none too gently. Seeming to disregard the fallen

Hobbit's obvious pain, the two grabbed him and dragged him to the

door. "Don't say anything, dear cousin," whispered Merry into Frodo's

ear. "Or you will be in deadly peril." TBC