Chapter 12:
Merry and Pippin trudged onwards. They'd been going like this for days, and Pippin was bored, as he kept on reminding Merry. They had kept to the road, never straying, but never seeming to catch up with their quarry either. Pippin sighed again, and was about to embark on the 101 reasons why they should turn back now, closely followed by the 101 things he could be doing right now if it wasn't for Merry dragging him along; when Merry exclaimed, cutting Pippins monologue short by at least two hours. Merry had seen something moving on the road ahead, two riders, heading south. Beckoning to Pippin they rode onto the verge at the side of the road, muffling their hoof beats to help with the element of surprise...
***
Eowyn was enraptured. The closer she got to the building the more she fell in love with it. She had finally reached the bridge over the gushing water, and started to cross. She gazed in wonder at the building. Never before had she seen anything as grand or as vast as this, and she had lived at Brandy Hall all of her life! She soon reached the other side of the bridge, and stepped onto solid ground once more. The moment she did, shivers raced up and down her spine. There was magic in this place, not threatening, but still there. She wandered closer, and going round to the side, discovered a beautiful archway leading to a courtyard. Stepping through she gasped. This had to be the elf paradise her father had told her about in his stories! Rivendell! She had thought it had to be the most perfect place on earth and had always longed to see it. Here she was stood right in her father's story! She moved across the courtyard, and climbed some steps into an open hallway; walking along it she found yet more beautiful rooms. It all looked so clean and lived in, but where was everybody?
She moved from one room to the next, admiring the beauty of each room in turn, gazing at the beautiful pictures on the walls, stopping to admire each statue and pausing on each balcony to admire the fantastic views. It was on one such balcony, facing the way into the valley, with a good view of both the bridge across the river and the first courtyard, that she saw a figure stepping from the bridge and start towards the entrance. She paused, suddenly frightened as to who this stranger might be, when she realized. He tilted his head up to look at the building and so she got a good look at his face. It was Frodo! Biting back a yell of delight, she dashed back into the room, it was a library of some sort, and back the way she had come. She emerged in the courtyard moments later, and paused to smile at Frodo before throwing herself on him. Sobs racked her body, and she held onto him tight, never wanting to let go of him again. He held her tightly, and soothed her gently. Relaxing in her company, and lines that had appeared on his face over the past couple of weeks smoothed out. When they finally broke apart, it was only to gaze into each other's eyes before kissing each other passionately.
Later that afternoon, they were sat on the steps leading from the courtyard into the main house, and talking. Eowyn was sat on the step below Frodo, so she could lay her head in his lap, relaxing into the knowledge that she was finally safe. They talked, trading stories, and filling in gaps in each other's tales. When Frodo told of his fight with Bill Ferny, Eowyn gasped in horror, holding Frodo's hand tight and kissing it lovingly.
The afternoon passed in a haze of happiness, they stayed where they were on the steps, feeling safer there than in the actual building, which had a lost and forgotten feel to it. They had a fine meal from some of Frodo's supplies, and then settled down for the night, the sound of the rushing waterfall soothing Eowyn to sleep almost instantly. Frodo however, was still worried about the outside world so kept watch all through the night, not wanting them to have a second chance at kidnapping her.
***
Merry and Pippin were delighted. Their plan for a surprise attack worked beautifully, and it had only taken five minutes, some rope and their swords before they had the two men at their command. They had bound them tight, not wanting any unpleasantness, for as Pippin had pointed out,
"It's so messy, and such a waste!"
There had then followed an hour of questioning, mainly involving Eowyn, for they had been greatly disturbed to find that she wasn't with them. Under duress they eventually admitted this story,
"We was doin' it for revenge, for my Uncle, Bill Ferny. He was well put out about you high and mighty hobbits, so he wanted to teach you a lesson. Him bein' old now, he couldn't do it, so he bribed me to do it. I got help from him, (he nodded to his companion who was sitting in a sullen silence) and we kidnapped your little brat. We brought her back to Bree, kept her tied up in our cellar and it was all going wonderfully till you lot turned up! We realized that you'd found us out, so we moved her. Later that night she escaped. We been trying to find her ever since, and that's what we were doing till you decided to tie us up!"
After his recount of the tale, Ferny then spat at Merry, who merely smiled as he wiped it off his cheek, and said
"That was unwise, I think you need some exercise!"
He grinned wickedly at Pippin who was looking disgusted with the two men, and then the two hobbits proceeded to tie the men to the ponies. Setting off shortly after, Merry and Pippin decided to start their hostages off with a slow canter. Each hobbit was riding his own pony, whilst leading one of the men's horses, running behind each pony was one of the men, reduced to running and unable to do anything being tethered to the ponies.
Whenever one of the men complained or was nasty, the pace was quickened; after all they did deserve it!
***
The next morning Frodo roused Eowyn from her sleep shortly after dawn. The two had a small breakfast, and much as they hated to leave the beautiful place, they mounted double onto Goldberry, who was a sturdy enough pony to be able to take the extra weight, and set off for the road. They crossed the bridge quickly, and turning back briefly, Eowyn whispered to Frodo, who was behind her,
"You must promise me that we shall come back to this beautiful place."
"I swear on my love for you, and my birthday that we shall come back."
Frodo murmured back to her.
"Your birthday?"
Eowyn was clearly puzzled by this last remark.
"It's today."
Frodo replied, lost in thought. Turning round as much as she could, Eowyn whispered,
"Happy birthday."
Before kissing him warmly. Startled from his thoughts, Frodo kissed her lovingly back, enjoying the feeling of having her back in his arms again.
They turned Goldberry for the road, and set off for home.
***
They had been riding all day, with only a brief stop for lunch, and twilight was just descending, when they saw an odd company approaching. They drew gradually closer, and finally, at the same moment, the two parties recognized each other. Eowyn slid off Goldberry, and raced over to Merry, who jumped down and pulled her into a massive hug, crying into her hair. Pippin saluted Frodo, before grinning and beckoning him over to examine the rest of their party. It was then that Frodo realized that the two strange figures had in fact been Eowyn's captors. He grinned seeing what torture his Uncle's had put them through; they didn't deserve any better treatment, before turning his attention back to Merry and Eowyn. Merry grabbed Frodo too at this point, thanking him over and over again for bringing his little girl back to him.
***
It was a cheerful party who returned to Bree around two weeks later. Ferny and his friend were turned over to the police for charges of kidnapping. Frodo told Merry and Pippin about what had happened to Bill Ferny, they explained to him that he was justified in doing this, as otherwise Bill would have killed him. Frodo still had nightmares about this for weeks afterwards. The company stayed for two days at Bree, before setting off home to explain themselves!
Merry and Pippin trudged onwards. They'd been going like this for days, and Pippin was bored, as he kept on reminding Merry. They had kept to the road, never straying, but never seeming to catch up with their quarry either. Pippin sighed again, and was about to embark on the 101 reasons why they should turn back now, closely followed by the 101 things he could be doing right now if it wasn't for Merry dragging him along; when Merry exclaimed, cutting Pippins monologue short by at least two hours. Merry had seen something moving on the road ahead, two riders, heading south. Beckoning to Pippin they rode onto the verge at the side of the road, muffling their hoof beats to help with the element of surprise...
***
Eowyn was enraptured. The closer she got to the building the more she fell in love with it. She had finally reached the bridge over the gushing water, and started to cross. She gazed in wonder at the building. Never before had she seen anything as grand or as vast as this, and she had lived at Brandy Hall all of her life! She soon reached the other side of the bridge, and stepped onto solid ground once more. The moment she did, shivers raced up and down her spine. There was magic in this place, not threatening, but still there. She wandered closer, and going round to the side, discovered a beautiful archway leading to a courtyard. Stepping through she gasped. This had to be the elf paradise her father had told her about in his stories! Rivendell! She had thought it had to be the most perfect place on earth and had always longed to see it. Here she was stood right in her father's story! She moved across the courtyard, and climbed some steps into an open hallway; walking along it she found yet more beautiful rooms. It all looked so clean and lived in, but where was everybody?
She moved from one room to the next, admiring the beauty of each room in turn, gazing at the beautiful pictures on the walls, stopping to admire each statue and pausing on each balcony to admire the fantastic views. It was on one such balcony, facing the way into the valley, with a good view of both the bridge across the river and the first courtyard, that she saw a figure stepping from the bridge and start towards the entrance. She paused, suddenly frightened as to who this stranger might be, when she realized. He tilted his head up to look at the building and so she got a good look at his face. It was Frodo! Biting back a yell of delight, she dashed back into the room, it was a library of some sort, and back the way she had come. She emerged in the courtyard moments later, and paused to smile at Frodo before throwing herself on him. Sobs racked her body, and she held onto him tight, never wanting to let go of him again. He held her tightly, and soothed her gently. Relaxing in her company, and lines that had appeared on his face over the past couple of weeks smoothed out. When they finally broke apart, it was only to gaze into each other's eyes before kissing each other passionately.
Later that afternoon, they were sat on the steps leading from the courtyard into the main house, and talking. Eowyn was sat on the step below Frodo, so she could lay her head in his lap, relaxing into the knowledge that she was finally safe. They talked, trading stories, and filling in gaps in each other's tales. When Frodo told of his fight with Bill Ferny, Eowyn gasped in horror, holding Frodo's hand tight and kissing it lovingly.
The afternoon passed in a haze of happiness, they stayed where they were on the steps, feeling safer there than in the actual building, which had a lost and forgotten feel to it. They had a fine meal from some of Frodo's supplies, and then settled down for the night, the sound of the rushing waterfall soothing Eowyn to sleep almost instantly. Frodo however, was still worried about the outside world so kept watch all through the night, not wanting them to have a second chance at kidnapping her.
***
Merry and Pippin were delighted. Their plan for a surprise attack worked beautifully, and it had only taken five minutes, some rope and their swords before they had the two men at their command. They had bound them tight, not wanting any unpleasantness, for as Pippin had pointed out,
"It's so messy, and such a waste!"
There had then followed an hour of questioning, mainly involving Eowyn, for they had been greatly disturbed to find that she wasn't with them. Under duress they eventually admitted this story,
"We was doin' it for revenge, for my Uncle, Bill Ferny. He was well put out about you high and mighty hobbits, so he wanted to teach you a lesson. Him bein' old now, he couldn't do it, so he bribed me to do it. I got help from him, (he nodded to his companion who was sitting in a sullen silence) and we kidnapped your little brat. We brought her back to Bree, kept her tied up in our cellar and it was all going wonderfully till you lot turned up! We realized that you'd found us out, so we moved her. Later that night she escaped. We been trying to find her ever since, and that's what we were doing till you decided to tie us up!"
After his recount of the tale, Ferny then spat at Merry, who merely smiled as he wiped it off his cheek, and said
"That was unwise, I think you need some exercise!"
He grinned wickedly at Pippin who was looking disgusted with the two men, and then the two hobbits proceeded to tie the men to the ponies. Setting off shortly after, Merry and Pippin decided to start their hostages off with a slow canter. Each hobbit was riding his own pony, whilst leading one of the men's horses, running behind each pony was one of the men, reduced to running and unable to do anything being tethered to the ponies.
Whenever one of the men complained or was nasty, the pace was quickened; after all they did deserve it!
***
The next morning Frodo roused Eowyn from her sleep shortly after dawn. The two had a small breakfast, and much as they hated to leave the beautiful place, they mounted double onto Goldberry, who was a sturdy enough pony to be able to take the extra weight, and set off for the road. They crossed the bridge quickly, and turning back briefly, Eowyn whispered to Frodo, who was behind her,
"You must promise me that we shall come back to this beautiful place."
"I swear on my love for you, and my birthday that we shall come back."
Frodo murmured back to her.
"Your birthday?"
Eowyn was clearly puzzled by this last remark.
"It's today."
Frodo replied, lost in thought. Turning round as much as she could, Eowyn whispered,
"Happy birthday."
Before kissing him warmly. Startled from his thoughts, Frodo kissed her lovingly back, enjoying the feeling of having her back in his arms again.
They turned Goldberry for the road, and set off for home.
***
They had been riding all day, with only a brief stop for lunch, and twilight was just descending, when they saw an odd company approaching. They drew gradually closer, and finally, at the same moment, the two parties recognized each other. Eowyn slid off Goldberry, and raced over to Merry, who jumped down and pulled her into a massive hug, crying into her hair. Pippin saluted Frodo, before grinning and beckoning him over to examine the rest of their party. It was then that Frodo realized that the two strange figures had in fact been Eowyn's captors. He grinned seeing what torture his Uncle's had put them through; they didn't deserve any better treatment, before turning his attention back to Merry and Eowyn. Merry grabbed Frodo too at this point, thanking him over and over again for bringing his little girl back to him.
***
It was a cheerful party who returned to Bree around two weeks later. Ferny and his friend were turned over to the police for charges of kidnapping. Frodo told Merry and Pippin about what had happened to Bill Ferny, they explained to him that he was justified in doing this, as otherwise Bill would have killed him. Frodo still had nightmares about this for weeks afterwards. The company stayed for two days at Bree, before setting off home to explain themselves!
