Niphrandl: Go Merry!
Krista: Uh, (grin nervously, scratch an unitchy head) how many chapters? Honestly I thought it would be no more than 7 or 8. But with the plots I have in my head, I'm lucky if I can finish the story in 40 chapters. Umm, I guess. I don't know.
Alisaundre: What I mean by the saying is that the way you write reflects on how you really are. I guess I can never write a humorous story. I wrote some short stories and all of them have a kind of contemplating mood. I think I should learn on how to write different genres. About Ted, the reason why he liked Frodo might not be explicitly stated. I just wrote something about how Ted saw all of this as a mere duty. His job was to take Frodo to Isengard. Period. So there was no point in being rude to the hobbit. Ted also noticed Frodo's bad condition when he kidnapped Frodo from the inn. He pitied the hobbit, I guess. And you know what, your comments on Ted gives me an idea. What if I write a story about Ted, his background and all? But, can I post the story here?
Aelfgifu: I don't plan to have Sam meet Frodo either. But who knows? About the pics, I haven't checked the groups again. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks anyway!
Warning: AU, violence
Chapter 31
Pippin ran as fast as his legs could bring him. He gazed back every now and then, making sure that the black riders were not following him. Relieved, he took a breath when realizing that they weren't. Apparently they only appeared when he wore the ring.
Poor Pip. He didn't know that although he couldn't see those ringwraiths, it didn't mean that they stopped chasing him. Having had a clear sign from Pippin earlier, those menacing black figures could track the ring down more easily. It was a matter of minutes before they reached Bree.
Once, doubts engulfed the little hobbit. If he ran to the woods, chances were he would soon meet those nazguls. But he had to go there to find Merry. He just hoped that the forest was so dense that the black riders couldn't spot him.
Pippin stopped to control his panting breaths. He had got so tired but Merry was nowhere in sight. He looked around, and saw a house not far from there. At first he couldn't tell if the house belonged to a man or a hobbit.
He cracked to a big grin a moment later when seeing a healthy-looking pony in front of the house. So this belonged to a hobbit, then.
Pippin sneaked forward, only moving when he was sure no one was looking. In fact, nobody seemed to be present. Feeling relieved when finally getting to the pony, he released it from the leash and tugged the reins a bit to check its condition. It seemed fine. Pippin decided to lead it a bit farther from the house before getting onto it.
Wow! What would his father say should the old hobbit see him now? A Took stole a pony! Yet Pippin didn't care. Those ringwraiths - his cousin Merry would know what to do with them.
Pippin mounted the pony and jerked the reins. With a kick on its side, it jumped and dashed forward.
***
The neighing sound of a horse woke Merry up. He blinked several times, unsure of where he was and whether what he had just heard was real. A horse? Whose horse?
Some time ago, when realizing that Sam didn't pay attention to him anymore, Merry decided that it was the best time to escape. He saw that Strider was also busy with himself. The man seemed to fully trust Sam about this Merry- keeping matter.
Merry smiled widely to himself when he was crawling away from the bush.
"What a stupid hobbit! All he thinks about is just food, food, and food!" he muttered.
But remembering the food Sam was cooking made his stomach growl. He was terribly hungry, and now that he realized it, he began to shake. He felt dizzy from the lack of nutrition but he pushed himself to keep moving. Merry managed to get away a bit farther. Still, nothing could stop him from falling over when everything suddenly became dark.
Coming back from unconsciousness, Merry opened his eyes widely, wondering about the horse. Neither Sam nor Strider rode one. And it was impossible for the two to go back to Bree to fetch some horses and be back here in such a short time. Merry shrank himself behind a big tree and spied at who was coming.
He held his breath when the animal turned up with someone on its back. It was actually not a horse at all. A pony - with a hobbit!
Merry's jaw went open when recognizing who it was. Pippin! No - really??
He recoiled even further before he was completely sure it was really his cousin, Pippin.
Deep anger was boiling in him. How dare did he show up after what he had done! He had to pay for taking the ring from him!
Merry waited patiently. When the pony got closer - only about five meters from where he was hiding - the hobbit jumped out and shrieked right in front of the pony's nose.
Frenzied, the pony jolted up, standing only with its hind legs. Pippin screamed in surprise. Lucky he was still clutching at the leather cord so he wasn't thrown to the back.
- only to be thrown to the front! The impatient and raged Merry grabbed Pippin's leg and pulled as hard as possible.
Pip yelped. He never suspected that.
The next thing he knew was he was flying into the air and landing hard on his belly on the ground, knocking the air out of him.
The younger hobbit never got a chance to speak as half a second later he felt a sturdy foot kicked him hard at his side. Pippin gasped. A tear rolled down his cheek. He tried to get up but the same foot that had caught his side before was on his back now, pressing him down.
"Merry," he whimpered. Why was it happening? He had raced his pony as fast as he could so he was able to find Merry quickly. But when he did find Merry -
"Be silent!" Merry roared. "What are you going to do this time? Kill me? Where is the ring?!" He pressed Pippin harder. The hobbit moaned weakly.
"Please." He almost couldn't breathe.
Merry lifted his foot, but now he reached out and tugged back a handful of Pip's curly hair.
"What? What do you want to say?" barked Merry.
"I - " Pippin spoke with great difficulty. " - want to return it."
Merry slammed Pip's head to the ground.
"Return it? Liar!"
Pip got up slowly, trying to crawl away. He was afraid any movement he made would enrage Merry more.
"No! I swear!" He fished into his pocket and handed the thing to his cousin. "Take it."
Merry snatched the ring with an unbelievable speed.
"My Ring! You come back!" He didn't bother in the least why Pip decided to do this absurd thing. He thought nobody would voluntarily give the ring away.
***
Saruman didn't want to delay his journey anymore. He had been upset enough by Ted's defiance, Frodo's constantly bad condition, and the rain. Now after settling the problem with Ted, Saruman thought nothing else would come between him and the ring. With more carefree feeling, Saruman flew his huge horse to Bree.
On the contrary, Frodo felt more and more terrified. To suppress his feeling, he held his breath and shut his already-covered eyes tightly. Riding was one of his hobbies. But Bilbo had never had his pony run this fast.
Moreover, Saruman had refastened a rope around his neck, this time even with shorter cord and tighter knot which tightened itself with every bounce of the horse's trot. Apparently the wizard wanted to make sure he wouldn't fall, thought Frodo bitterly. Anyway, it wouldn't be a nice experience - falling down. He was so small, making the distance to the ground even bigger.
The horse jerked again. Frodo sobbed softly. He was getting more afraid with the whole situation. In addition to the pain in his strangled neck and throat, he felt disoriented due to the blindfold.
There was nothing else he wanted now but a piece of light. This total darkness had once made him frantically turn his head to the left and right, as if by doing that he could find the desperately needed light. When he still couldn't find it, he got panicked. His breaths grew shorter. He was shaking all over. And he let out small choking noises as his screams were restrained by the cloth.
TBC
Krista: Uh, (grin nervously, scratch an unitchy head) how many chapters? Honestly I thought it would be no more than 7 or 8. But with the plots I have in my head, I'm lucky if I can finish the story in 40 chapters. Umm, I guess. I don't know.
Alisaundre: What I mean by the saying is that the way you write reflects on how you really are. I guess I can never write a humorous story. I wrote some short stories and all of them have a kind of contemplating mood. I think I should learn on how to write different genres. About Ted, the reason why he liked Frodo might not be explicitly stated. I just wrote something about how Ted saw all of this as a mere duty. His job was to take Frodo to Isengard. Period. So there was no point in being rude to the hobbit. Ted also noticed Frodo's bad condition when he kidnapped Frodo from the inn. He pitied the hobbit, I guess. And you know what, your comments on Ted gives me an idea. What if I write a story about Ted, his background and all? But, can I post the story here?
Aelfgifu: I don't plan to have Sam meet Frodo either. But who knows? About the pics, I haven't checked the groups again. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks anyway!
Warning: AU, violence
Chapter 31
Pippin ran as fast as his legs could bring him. He gazed back every now and then, making sure that the black riders were not following him. Relieved, he took a breath when realizing that they weren't. Apparently they only appeared when he wore the ring.
Poor Pip. He didn't know that although he couldn't see those ringwraiths, it didn't mean that they stopped chasing him. Having had a clear sign from Pippin earlier, those menacing black figures could track the ring down more easily. It was a matter of minutes before they reached Bree.
Once, doubts engulfed the little hobbit. If he ran to the woods, chances were he would soon meet those nazguls. But he had to go there to find Merry. He just hoped that the forest was so dense that the black riders couldn't spot him.
Pippin stopped to control his panting breaths. He had got so tired but Merry was nowhere in sight. He looked around, and saw a house not far from there. At first he couldn't tell if the house belonged to a man or a hobbit.
He cracked to a big grin a moment later when seeing a healthy-looking pony in front of the house. So this belonged to a hobbit, then.
Pippin sneaked forward, only moving when he was sure no one was looking. In fact, nobody seemed to be present. Feeling relieved when finally getting to the pony, he released it from the leash and tugged the reins a bit to check its condition. It seemed fine. Pippin decided to lead it a bit farther from the house before getting onto it.
Wow! What would his father say should the old hobbit see him now? A Took stole a pony! Yet Pippin didn't care. Those ringwraiths - his cousin Merry would know what to do with them.
Pippin mounted the pony and jerked the reins. With a kick on its side, it jumped and dashed forward.
***
The neighing sound of a horse woke Merry up. He blinked several times, unsure of where he was and whether what he had just heard was real. A horse? Whose horse?
Some time ago, when realizing that Sam didn't pay attention to him anymore, Merry decided that it was the best time to escape. He saw that Strider was also busy with himself. The man seemed to fully trust Sam about this Merry- keeping matter.
Merry smiled widely to himself when he was crawling away from the bush.
"What a stupid hobbit! All he thinks about is just food, food, and food!" he muttered.
But remembering the food Sam was cooking made his stomach growl. He was terribly hungry, and now that he realized it, he began to shake. He felt dizzy from the lack of nutrition but he pushed himself to keep moving. Merry managed to get away a bit farther. Still, nothing could stop him from falling over when everything suddenly became dark.
Coming back from unconsciousness, Merry opened his eyes widely, wondering about the horse. Neither Sam nor Strider rode one. And it was impossible for the two to go back to Bree to fetch some horses and be back here in such a short time. Merry shrank himself behind a big tree and spied at who was coming.
He held his breath when the animal turned up with someone on its back. It was actually not a horse at all. A pony - with a hobbit!
Merry's jaw went open when recognizing who it was. Pippin! No - really??
He recoiled even further before he was completely sure it was really his cousin, Pippin.
Deep anger was boiling in him. How dare did he show up after what he had done! He had to pay for taking the ring from him!
Merry waited patiently. When the pony got closer - only about five meters from where he was hiding - the hobbit jumped out and shrieked right in front of the pony's nose.
Frenzied, the pony jolted up, standing only with its hind legs. Pippin screamed in surprise. Lucky he was still clutching at the leather cord so he wasn't thrown to the back.
- only to be thrown to the front! The impatient and raged Merry grabbed Pippin's leg and pulled as hard as possible.
Pip yelped. He never suspected that.
The next thing he knew was he was flying into the air and landing hard on his belly on the ground, knocking the air out of him.
The younger hobbit never got a chance to speak as half a second later he felt a sturdy foot kicked him hard at his side. Pippin gasped. A tear rolled down his cheek. He tried to get up but the same foot that had caught his side before was on his back now, pressing him down.
"Merry," he whimpered. Why was it happening? He had raced his pony as fast as he could so he was able to find Merry quickly. But when he did find Merry -
"Be silent!" Merry roared. "What are you going to do this time? Kill me? Where is the ring?!" He pressed Pippin harder. The hobbit moaned weakly.
"Please." He almost couldn't breathe.
Merry lifted his foot, but now he reached out and tugged back a handful of Pip's curly hair.
"What? What do you want to say?" barked Merry.
"I - " Pippin spoke with great difficulty. " - want to return it."
Merry slammed Pip's head to the ground.
"Return it? Liar!"
Pip got up slowly, trying to crawl away. He was afraid any movement he made would enrage Merry more.
"No! I swear!" He fished into his pocket and handed the thing to his cousin. "Take it."
Merry snatched the ring with an unbelievable speed.
"My Ring! You come back!" He didn't bother in the least why Pip decided to do this absurd thing. He thought nobody would voluntarily give the ring away.
***
Saruman didn't want to delay his journey anymore. He had been upset enough by Ted's defiance, Frodo's constantly bad condition, and the rain. Now after settling the problem with Ted, Saruman thought nothing else would come between him and the ring. With more carefree feeling, Saruman flew his huge horse to Bree.
On the contrary, Frodo felt more and more terrified. To suppress his feeling, he held his breath and shut his already-covered eyes tightly. Riding was one of his hobbies. But Bilbo had never had his pony run this fast.
Moreover, Saruman had refastened a rope around his neck, this time even with shorter cord and tighter knot which tightened itself with every bounce of the horse's trot. Apparently the wizard wanted to make sure he wouldn't fall, thought Frodo bitterly. Anyway, it wouldn't be a nice experience - falling down. He was so small, making the distance to the ground even bigger.
The horse jerked again. Frodo sobbed softly. He was getting more afraid with the whole situation. In addition to the pain in his strangled neck and throat, he felt disoriented due to the blindfold.
There was nothing else he wanted now but a piece of light. This total darkness had once made him frantically turn his head to the left and right, as if by doing that he could find the desperately needed light. When he still couldn't find it, he got panicked. His breaths grew shorter. He was shaking all over. And he let out small choking noises as his screams were restrained by the cloth.
TBC
