All characters are still owned by Tolkien, apart from Theodred and Rowan,
who although Tolkien hints at, he never names them and so they are my own
creation. I hope you enjoy the story, and let me know what you think.
Chapter 1:
Merry sat down heavily on the nearest seat.
"Pippin! I think you'd better come in here a minute!"
Merry called to his younger cousin. Concern at Merry's tone of voice, brought Pippin quickly to his side.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"I think we need to talk."
Was Merry's reply, and with that he got up and headed off to his study in Brandy Hall. Five minutes later, the two were seated in Merry's study, puffing gently on their pipes.
"So what's the matter?"
Pippin was the first to break the silence. He was concerned as to why Merry looked so strange. He hadn't seen him like this since Estella had died over a year ago now. It had been a shock for all of them when Estella had died. She had gone to bed perfectly fine, and when Merry had gone to rouse her the next morning, she had been dead. She had looked so peaceful when they had found her, but Merry had been in shock over her death for many months afterward. Merry paused, thinking before he replied.
"I recieved a letter from Eomer this morning."
Merry paused again, and Pippin thinking that he had finished said,
"What's so strange about that?"
"He's sent for me."
Merry said the words quietly, he still couldn't believe it. All those years of being in the service of Rohan, and only now did the summons come! It didn't make sense. Pippin sat silent for some minutes, thinking. He was as puzzled as Merry as to the timing of the summons, and couldn't believe that it had actually come.
"Do you think something's wrong?"
Pippin finally asked.
"I honestly don't know. Maybe Eomer just wants to see me again."
Pippin sat quietly for a few minutes, before asking the question that really burned his mind.
"Are you going to go?"
"What do you think?! I can't just ignore a royal summons!"
Merry sat back thoughtfully after saying this. Was he going to go? He should, after all Eomer was King, and he couldn't really ignore his letter. He was old now, yes, but he was still open for adventure. After all he was 102, but he did want to see Rohan and Eomer again.He had nothing much to keep him here anymore. Estella was no longer with him, Eowyn was happily married and was currently expecting her fourth child. Theodred, his son, was married to a beautiful girl, Rowan , who would be able to keep him in check,and Theodred was ready to take on the responsibility of Buckland. The other thing that might have kept him here was Sam, but after the death of Rosie he had taken the red book to Elanor and there written letters to both Merry and Pippin explaining why he was leaving like this, and had then passed on to the gray havens. The only real thing to keep him here now, was Pippin. With this last thought he looked at his cousin thoughtfully. Pippin was now 94, and Merry was unsure as to whether Pippin would want to leave the Shire now. Diamond had died shortly after Estella, and it was partly the shock of Estella's death that had caused her death. She had been very unwell for sometime and it had come as no surprise when she had died last spring. Although he no longer had Diamond to keep him here, Pippin still had his two daughters and his son. He would probably want to stay here with them, Merry decided.
Whilst Merry had been thinking, Pippin had been doing some thinking of his own, pretty much the same thing as Merry had been. Finally he spoke again,
"So you are going to go."
After much deliberation Merry finally answered.
"Yes, I think so."
Pippin smiled slightly before asking his next question,
"Are you going to come back though?"
Merry thought about his answer to this for some time before resolve showed on his face.
"No. No I don't think I shall be coming back."
Merry retreated back into his thoughts for some time, whilst Pippin continued some of his own thinking. He had come to the conclusion that Merry would say that before he had asked him, so it had been no surprise when Merry had answered with that. Pippin thought for some time, weighing up what he should do, until he finally came to a decision. Looking up he smiled at Merry and said quietly,
"Well I think I had better come with you."
Relief showed on Merry's face, and some of the lines smoothed out.
"I was hoping you would say that!"
And with that, they started planning their journey. If it was to be their last, they were definetley going to make the most of it!
The rest of that day was spent outlining their plans. The excitment of a journey soon was upon them, and when they went to dinner that night, Theodred and Rowan were amazed, the pair looked about ten years younger! They ate dinner fairly quickly before retiring to the sitting room to talk.
Merry started the conversation that night,
"Theodred, Rowan, I have an announcement to make. I recieved a letter this morning from a very old friend of mine, Eomer, whom you probably remember from your little escapade!* He has requested that I go to him, and I have decided to accept and Pippin and I will be leaving for Rohan as soon as spring comes. What I think you won't like about this is, I won't be coming back."
Merry said the last part quite slowly, worried as to his son's reaction. As he had feared, Theo was quite distressed by the news, but after some disscussion from all four hobbits they all agreed that it was probably for the best that it happened like this. They spent most of the rest of the night disscussing plans as to what would happen to Buckland and when Theodred was to become the Lord, and it was past midnight before they went to bed, tired but remarkably cheerful.
***
The next morning saw Merry and Pippin pouring over old maps before breakfast. They had decided to leave as soon as winter was giving way to spring, and had decided to go first to Bree and from there they would make their way on towards Rivendell, but wouldn't stop there. It was now empty, the elves had passed away over the sea, and it hurt them both to think of Rivendell being deserted. They preferred to remember it as it had been when Elrond had still abided there and did not wish to change their memories of it. From there they would take the gap of Rohan, and cross the fields of the Riddermark before coming to Edoras itself. With that settled, all they needed to do was to settle their affairs before they left.
Pippin left two days later to go to his children in the great Smials and explain to them what he was going to do. Merry however stayed behind, and spent several hours each day instructing Theodred on the running of Buckland, wanting to make sure that the land would be safe in his hands. The days passed quickly, and soon Merry started to think about provisions for the journey, and mundane things like getting his sword sharpened and his horse Theodoc re-shod. A few days later, Pippin returned. He had finished all his buissness in Tookland and tied up all of the loose ends that were left. Faramir was now officially the Thain, and Pippin was ready for their journey. Between the two of them they assembled everything that they would need for the journey, clothes, provisions everything they could think of that they might need. Two days later, they were ready. Theodred and Merry sai their goodbyes in the study, preferring the others not to witness this last parting. They bid farewells to their other friends outside, and soon mounted up on their ponies. They looked a fine site to see in the liveries of the mark and of the white tree and with many shouts of goodbye, they turned and set off towards the gate and the Brandywine bridge. They soon passed through and over, and with one last wave to the people behind them, they turned and set off on the road again, never to look down on the Shire or Buckland again.
What did you think? Please let me know!
*This comment refers to another story of mine, which I am currently in the process of writing. The story is called "Firefoot" and is being up-dated as regularly as I can.
Chapter 1:
Merry sat down heavily on the nearest seat.
"Pippin! I think you'd better come in here a minute!"
Merry called to his younger cousin. Concern at Merry's tone of voice, brought Pippin quickly to his side.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"I think we need to talk."
Was Merry's reply, and with that he got up and headed off to his study in Brandy Hall. Five minutes later, the two were seated in Merry's study, puffing gently on their pipes.
"So what's the matter?"
Pippin was the first to break the silence. He was concerned as to why Merry looked so strange. He hadn't seen him like this since Estella had died over a year ago now. It had been a shock for all of them when Estella had died. She had gone to bed perfectly fine, and when Merry had gone to rouse her the next morning, she had been dead. She had looked so peaceful when they had found her, but Merry had been in shock over her death for many months afterward. Merry paused, thinking before he replied.
"I recieved a letter from Eomer this morning."
Merry paused again, and Pippin thinking that he had finished said,
"What's so strange about that?"
"He's sent for me."
Merry said the words quietly, he still couldn't believe it. All those years of being in the service of Rohan, and only now did the summons come! It didn't make sense. Pippin sat silent for some minutes, thinking. He was as puzzled as Merry as to the timing of the summons, and couldn't believe that it had actually come.
"Do you think something's wrong?"
Pippin finally asked.
"I honestly don't know. Maybe Eomer just wants to see me again."
Pippin sat quietly for a few minutes, before asking the question that really burned his mind.
"Are you going to go?"
"What do you think?! I can't just ignore a royal summons!"
Merry sat back thoughtfully after saying this. Was he going to go? He should, after all Eomer was King, and he couldn't really ignore his letter. He was old now, yes, but he was still open for adventure. After all he was 102, but he did want to see Rohan and Eomer again.He had nothing much to keep him here anymore. Estella was no longer with him, Eowyn was happily married and was currently expecting her fourth child. Theodred, his son, was married to a beautiful girl, Rowan , who would be able to keep him in check,and Theodred was ready to take on the responsibility of Buckland. The other thing that might have kept him here was Sam, but after the death of Rosie he had taken the red book to Elanor and there written letters to both Merry and Pippin explaining why he was leaving like this, and had then passed on to the gray havens. The only real thing to keep him here now, was Pippin. With this last thought he looked at his cousin thoughtfully. Pippin was now 94, and Merry was unsure as to whether Pippin would want to leave the Shire now. Diamond had died shortly after Estella, and it was partly the shock of Estella's death that had caused her death. She had been very unwell for sometime and it had come as no surprise when she had died last spring. Although he no longer had Diamond to keep him here, Pippin still had his two daughters and his son. He would probably want to stay here with them, Merry decided.
Whilst Merry had been thinking, Pippin had been doing some thinking of his own, pretty much the same thing as Merry had been. Finally he spoke again,
"So you are going to go."
After much deliberation Merry finally answered.
"Yes, I think so."
Pippin smiled slightly before asking his next question,
"Are you going to come back though?"
Merry thought about his answer to this for some time before resolve showed on his face.
"No. No I don't think I shall be coming back."
Merry retreated back into his thoughts for some time, whilst Pippin continued some of his own thinking. He had come to the conclusion that Merry would say that before he had asked him, so it had been no surprise when Merry had answered with that. Pippin thought for some time, weighing up what he should do, until he finally came to a decision. Looking up he smiled at Merry and said quietly,
"Well I think I had better come with you."
Relief showed on Merry's face, and some of the lines smoothed out.
"I was hoping you would say that!"
And with that, they started planning their journey. If it was to be their last, they were definetley going to make the most of it!
The rest of that day was spent outlining their plans. The excitment of a journey soon was upon them, and when they went to dinner that night, Theodred and Rowan were amazed, the pair looked about ten years younger! They ate dinner fairly quickly before retiring to the sitting room to talk.
Merry started the conversation that night,
"Theodred, Rowan, I have an announcement to make. I recieved a letter this morning from a very old friend of mine, Eomer, whom you probably remember from your little escapade!* He has requested that I go to him, and I have decided to accept and Pippin and I will be leaving for Rohan as soon as spring comes. What I think you won't like about this is, I won't be coming back."
Merry said the last part quite slowly, worried as to his son's reaction. As he had feared, Theo was quite distressed by the news, but after some disscussion from all four hobbits they all agreed that it was probably for the best that it happened like this. They spent most of the rest of the night disscussing plans as to what would happen to Buckland and when Theodred was to become the Lord, and it was past midnight before they went to bed, tired but remarkably cheerful.
***
The next morning saw Merry and Pippin pouring over old maps before breakfast. They had decided to leave as soon as winter was giving way to spring, and had decided to go first to Bree and from there they would make their way on towards Rivendell, but wouldn't stop there. It was now empty, the elves had passed away over the sea, and it hurt them both to think of Rivendell being deserted. They preferred to remember it as it had been when Elrond had still abided there and did not wish to change their memories of it. From there they would take the gap of Rohan, and cross the fields of the Riddermark before coming to Edoras itself. With that settled, all they needed to do was to settle their affairs before they left.
Pippin left two days later to go to his children in the great Smials and explain to them what he was going to do. Merry however stayed behind, and spent several hours each day instructing Theodred on the running of Buckland, wanting to make sure that the land would be safe in his hands. The days passed quickly, and soon Merry started to think about provisions for the journey, and mundane things like getting his sword sharpened and his horse Theodoc re-shod. A few days later, Pippin returned. He had finished all his buissness in Tookland and tied up all of the loose ends that were left. Faramir was now officially the Thain, and Pippin was ready for their journey. Between the two of them they assembled everything that they would need for the journey, clothes, provisions everything they could think of that they might need. Two days later, they were ready. Theodred and Merry sai their goodbyes in the study, preferring the others not to witness this last parting. They bid farewells to their other friends outside, and soon mounted up on their ponies. They looked a fine site to see in the liveries of the mark and of the white tree and with many shouts of goodbye, they turned and set off towards the gate and the Brandywine bridge. They soon passed through and over, and with one last wave to the people behind them, they turned and set off on the road again, never to look down on the Shire or Buckland again.
What did you think? Please let me know!
*This comment refers to another story of mine, which I am currently in the process of writing. The story is called "Firefoot" and is being up-dated as regularly as I can.