Chapter 12

One of the Isengarders got up from his seat and walked casually to

the counter. He waved to the woman who then approached him.

"The halfling," he said hoarsely. "What's with him?"

The woman squinted suspiciously. "And who are you, nice man?" She

inquired politely, her voice hinting something that made the man

blush.

"Oh, pardon me. I'm not trying to do anything --- queer. I was just

wondering. I saw how people looked at him just now. And I wondered

what was going on there. It's because, you know, he's not a plain

hobbit. He's rather pretty!"

The woman observed him more closely. Suspicion left her face,

replaced by pity.

"Ah, I see what you mean. But you see, I don't think he would be

right for you. I mean, he's not one of those halflings who --- who -"

She made the man groan impatiently. She continued at once. "He's not

one of those harlots."

The man chuckled. "Well, he doesn't need to be one officially,

right?"

The Isengard spy felt amused by his own disguise. He wouldn't mind,

though, having the hobbit for himself for one or two nights. His gaze

wandered and fell to his companions. They were frowning at him.

Suddenly reminded of his real task, he turned back to the woman.

"Come on. Don't you act as if you were his mother. You don't even

know him. Tell me where he is staying!"

The woman reeled back, surprised by the sudden change of the man's

tone.

"I --- I can't tell you. It's the private ---"

"Look, woman!" snapped the man. "I can get my friends down here and

let them do the asking, which won't be done very nicely --- or you

can answer me now! We have some business to do with the halfling, so

go on with the answer."

She kept silent. It was bad enough for Frodo to deal with Mr.

Meriadoc and Mr. Peregrin. He didn't need anyone else to harm him.

This ruffian looked dangerous.

A movement from the man made her gasp. A flashing knife was suddenly

in his hand.

"I guess we need to have a walk," said the man icily.

***

Patiently Merry would scoop up spoonfuls of applesauce and bring them

gingerly to Frodo's mouth, and Frodo would accept them with

delight. He no longer had difficulty swallowing, as Pippin would give

him water every time he finished a spoonful. Frodo's cousins sat

on

either side of him, making sure that he ate up all the applesauce.

Frodo looked up at Merry tenderly. There was no longer any fear in

Frodo's eyes - instead they had taken on a vague and glassy

quality.

"Merry," Frodo called softly. Merry gave him a warm smile. Frodo

gasped a little, realizing that it was the first smile given to him

in the last few horrifying days.

"Yes, Frodo?"

"I know it'll never be enough for me to thank you, but," he said

haltingly. "I thank you anyway."

Merry's smile widened. Pippin laughed a little.

"There's no need, Frodo. There's no need to say thank you. I know

these last days have been so heavy for you."

Frodo closed his eyes. All the mistreatment that he had received was

coming to his mind again. He felt a knot in his stomach. What had he

done to deserve all that, anyway? Everything seemed blurry right now,

as if a cloud had come veiling Frodo's mind. What he could remember

were the pain and the cruel manners of his cousins. But he didn't

understand the cause of it. He whimpered slowly. Well, perhaps, he

did deserve to be punished. He most probably had made a big mistake.

Merry extended his hand and caressed Frodo's cheek with the back of

it. Frodo welcomed it and, while keeping his eyes closed like a

contented kitten, grasped Merry's hand with both of his and kept

it in place. He felt strangely and agonizingly peaceful. Merry's

touch reminded him of his mama's, which had been so soft, tender

loving. Oh, how he missed her!. A teardrop escaped his eye.

"Merry, please ---" His voice was caught in his throat.

"Please what, Beloved?"

Frodo's eyes fluttered open. They look so sad and vulnerable.

"Please don't put me back in that dark place. It frightened me very

much."

"But Frodo, what should I do if you disobey me? I don't want to have

to hurt you."

Frodo cringed, quivering all over.

"Nooo, don't," he sobbed. "I --- I,"

"Then you promise me that you will be obedient?"

Silence

"If that's the case, I'm not going to let any harm come upon you,

Frodo."

Still silence

"You must promise me."

Frodo hung his head.

"Because I promise to do what I said. Do you trust me, Frodo?"

He looked up, his eyes searching for any signs of deceit in Merry's

greenish blue orbs. He found none. Slowly he nodded.

"Thank you, my dearest cousin," said Merry seriously. Pippin patted

Frodo in the head. "You know that you can always trust me."

As if relieved from a spell, Frodo nodded again and smiled, beginning

to feel more cheerful. He went back to his applesauce.

After finishing with the applesauce, Frodo looked hopefully at the

bread. He wouldn't mind munching on one or two of them. His stomach

growled, agreeing with the idea.

Frodo reached out a hand to take one of the buns when Merry stopped

him. He softly drew Frodo's hand away. Frodo looked up questioningly.

"Merry?"

"A moment, Frodo. Before you take the bread, which is extremely fine

with me, I'd like to ask you something first."

"What is it, Merry?" Frodo's voice was that of a small boy.

"But you must promise me that you will answer it. Or ---" Merry said,

as if reluctantly. "You will not get your bread." His tone suddenly

changed. "And I really don't want that to happen, Frodo. You must

understand that I would not be the one denying you the bread."

Frodo's eye lids blinked slowly. He didn't quite follow what Merry

was saying. "Just give me your question, Cousin, and I'll try to

answer it," he said eventually.

"Did you love your parents, Frodo?"

It was an unexpected yet easy question. Frodo smiled widely,

innocently. "And for answering that I can get a roll of bread? Why,

Cousin, of course I loved my parents. And I still love them."

Merry handed his cousin the bread, which was grabbed quickly and

devoured. He felt like winning a game. And an easy one! He wouldn't

mind being asked again.

Therefore, when the bread was finished, he just waited. Merry looked

Frodo in the eye again.

"You want another bread?" Merry asked -already knowing the

answer. Small curves formed at the corners of Merry's lips.

"Then this is the second question. What did Gandalf say about the

ring?"

TBC