Rating: G
Summary: This is a series of connected vignettes that shed some light on the last years of Merry and Pippin. The vignettes cover their travels to Rohan and Gondor, and their interactions with the remaining members of the Company. In "Beauty," Pippin tries to tell Merry about Gildor.
Feedback: Constructive criticism is welcome. I attempt to keep as close to book canon as possible. Ideas on how to improve in this area are particularly welcome.
Disclaimer: The places, situations and characters of The Lord of the Rings belong to the Tolkien Estate. This work contains no original characters. No money is being made from this work.

The Further Adventures of Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took:
"Beauty"

The journey from the Shire to Rohan covered many leagues, and obviously could not hope to be completed in anything close to a day. One evening, as the Riders set up camp (age had its benefits—Merry and Pippin were expected to do nothing), Pippin, for some unknown reason, began to tell Merry about the meeting with Gildor Inglorion. All that Merry really knew about the entire event was that Frodo, Sam and Pippin had encountered the elf of the House of Finrod on the journey from Bag End to Crickhollow.

As Pippin was talking, it occurred to Merry that in all the time from the meeting near Brandy Hall until the present moment, years and miles away, there had never been a moment for that tale, or many others, to be truly told with all four of them present—and it obviously would never happen. The years had seen them taken apart from each other many times, sick, hurt, in despair, attending to other responsibilities, and Frodo had been damaged beyond the ability of his world to repair him.

'What a shame,' thought Merry to himself.  'Truly, when did we last enjoy tales, hearth, ale, good food, and each other? Was the last time, when we were all whole, truly before the Quest?'

Merry started to mediate on these matters, as he was wont to do, particularly in his advanced age.  Pippin, noticing that his friend was drifting away to his own thoughts, had to get quite loud in his tale-telling to regain Merry's interest.

Merry snapped back to attention. Pippin was trying his best to describe the grace and beauty of Gildor, but Merry could see that he was not satisfied with the account he was giving.

Finally, he stopped, and said to Merry, "I wish I had been older, you know! I didn't pay any attention at all; Gandalf would be so upset with me. I can hear him now, 'Young Took, until you are old enough to say things worth remembering, be quiet and listen. Do you want to have memories not of the good and beautiful but of your own silly voice talking too much when you get older?' As usual, he was right. But what am I saying, you've seen Elves many times—you saw the Lady Galadriel and the Lady Arwen, who are among the fairest, if I know my tales correctly."

Merry shook his head in agreement with Pippin. "I really tried to remember everything," he said, "but if I was called to give a description, I'd have the same difficulties you are having. It's funny, they say that you tend to exaggerate things positively in your memories, but I find that when it comes to remembering all the truly magnificent things in the world—the things that no longer dwell here—my memories, or my ability to articulate them, cannot approach the truth."

"It's true," agreed Pippin, "I remember how the magnificence of those things felt, and for that I know I'm lucky, but for the life of me, I couldn't convey that to someone else. It's too bad that we were the ones to do all the seeing, and that someone else who wasn't a bit better with words was in our place. It would be a shame if the magnificence of the past Age was diminished in memory because a couple of hobbits couldn't tell the stories correctly."

"A shame indeed. Thankfully Frodo and Bilbo do not seem to have our difficulties; their account of things should preserve the memory."  Merry was truly glad for this.

"Yes," replied Pippin. "Now, I will enjoy the one great gift of this Age, which is peace, and go to sleep."

Merry turned over, but he could not sleep. His mind was fixed on the issues that had occupied him earlier, and Pippin's final words were tossing in his head...'one great gift of this Age.'

"I wonder if what we have given up and let pass from this world was too much for give for that great gift?" Merry said, aloud and softly.  "Probably not, but I miss Elves and other fanciful things. Of course, I was always the one who never understood the stories where the lesson was that the things that produce the most wonderment are right under your nose in the everyday. I know better."

He sang to himself, "O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! We still remember, we who dwell in this far land beneath the trees, thy starlight on the Western seas."  He did not know why he did this.  He had never felt connected to the Elves.  Frodo had been connected, and Sam had too, in his own way.  Merry, for his part, had been more of an admirer.  He felt that he and Pippin had connected better with Men.  A thought in the back of his mind told him that was important, but it could not tell him why. 

He sighed deeply and thought, 'I have never seen the Light and that is not intended for me, but even in my little existence, I have seen wondrous things that those who come after me will not see. Though I cannot do justice to them, I must always remember.'

With this, Merry looked up at the stars and silently lamented the passing of many beautiful things from the world.