Hey, if anything is wrong, I don't care! This is my fic and I'll do what I
want with it!
Heh, and anything with its characters! ^^
-I do not own LOTR or any of its characters-
~*~
Upon setting foot on the threshold of Brandy Hall, Frodo spoke to Merry quietly.
"Merry, I don't think we should tell anyone about Estel."
Merry looked confused. "Why not?"
"Because most hobbits would probably get very frightened if they knew men were walking around the Shire!" He hissed back.
Merry sighed and finally agreed. "Alright then, I won't tell anybody if you won't. Pinky sware?" He held out his little finger to Frodo. Frodo gladly took it with his own, wrapping it around the smaller one.
"Pinky sware." He said. And with that, they both went to their own rooms, ready for a good night sleep. Well, after a small meal at the Brandy Hall kitchen.
~*~
The next day brang gloom to the hobbits. In the middle of the day, the clouds became grey and dark, promising bad weather. Frodo and Merry stayed inside, Merry being so scared of thunderstorms, Frodo stayed inside with him. Frodo and Merry played chess and other games all through the day in Frodo's room, content with staying inside. Many hours later, Merry's father Saradoc Brandybuck came in to tell them to go to bed.
Merry yawned widely and stretched. "I guess Daddy is right, Frodo. Goodnight." And with a small wave to his cousin, he left Frodo's room. Frodo got dressed and got into bed, pulling the covers snuggly around himself. A distant rumble of thunder was heard, and a streek of lightning.
Frodo continued to hear those distant rumbles as he fell slowly into sleep. He dreampt about many things. Elves, Men, Dwarves, Estel, Merry, and Bilbo. Though he didn't know what an Elf or a Dwarf looked like, he could imagine from his dearest Uncle's drawings.
But he was suddenly jostled from his dreams by the sinking of his bed on his side as another body crawled into it. He sat up and looked at the figure sitting next to him on it's knees, it's hands on it's small knees. He squinted in the dark, trying to see who it was. The figure spoke just as another forked lightening streaked the night sky, sending an enormous explosion of thunder after it. It was Merry.
"Frodo! I'm scared!" He jumped into Frodo's arms as the thunder boomed. Frodo held him tightly, feeling him quiver all over. Another forked lightning fell from the heavens, followed by another thunder clap. And then the rain started falling down it heavy sheets, pattering against the windows loudly.
Merry whimpered and shivered harder. Frodo tightened his arms around his young cousin, and started rocking back and forth slowly. Merry started to sob, jumping in fright whenever another thunder clap shook the ground.
"Shhh.. It's ok, Mer. It's ok." Frodo whispered into his cousin's leaf- shaped ear. And he started to sing to him soothingly in elvish.
Merry calmed down somewhat, shaking with silent sobs. He nestled onto Frodo's lap more comfortably, and put his head onto his elder cousin's chest. He listened to Frodo's heart beat, and felt each slow breath he took. It was so soothing alltogether. He let Frodo's rithmick heartbeat lull him slowly to sleep, his breaths evening out and deepening.
Frodo eased his small cousin onto his side, and covered them both with the covers. Merry curled up into a ball, his sandy curls tickling Frodo's chin. Frodo put his arm about Merry, and put his face into the unruly curls. He slowly drifted off to sleep, the deep rumbles of thunder seeming nothing to him.
~*~
The next day both Hobbits awoke refreshed, and dressed.
"Frodo?" Merry said, following him to the Brandy Hall kitchen.
"Yes, Merry?" Frodo answered, standing in line for breakfast, with Merry right behind him.
"Why aren't you afraid of thunderstorms?"
Frodo thought a second before replying. "I'm not afriad of them because I'm inside. Thunderstorms can't get inside, and plus we've got Uncle Sara watching over us to make sure we're safe."
He picked up his tray and waited for Merry. Merry took his and followed Frodo to two empty seats and sat down with him.
Merry thought about Frodo's answer for a moment. "Wow Frodo! You're right, I guess there really isn't much to worry about when Daddy is around."
He hurredly ate his breakfast and went up for Second Breakfast. Frodo finished his and put away his tray. He walked back to where Merry sat, bending down to speak to him.
"Aren't you having more, Frodo?" Merry asked.
"No Merry, I'm not. I'm full! Honestly, with all the food you eat, there won't be any left in Middle Earth!" He and Merry both chuckled lightly. "I'm going to go outside and take a walk for a bit. I'll see you soon, ok Mer?"
"But its so wet outside counsin!" Merry protested.
"I'm not going to let that deter me in the lest bit. Bye Mer, see you soon." And with that, he left Brandy Hall Kitchen.
"Bye Frodo!" Merry yelled after him.
~*~
Outside was cold and wet, and Frodo wrapped his cloak around himslef tighter. There were still some dreary dark clouds in the sky, but none looked like they promised rain. Frodo continued on, walking through the trees and admiring the beauty of it all. Trees surrounded him on all sides, but he always kept the road on his left, and stayed near it.
He stopped suddenly when he heard voices. He knelt and crawled under some bushes on the edge of a small clearing, the same clearing he and Merry had found Estel in. But the Men were nothing like Estel. They were Ruffians, Frodo could tell immdeiatly by the look of them.
There were three of them, all with long black greasy hair, bristly unshaven faces, and grey eyes. All wore terrible looking, extremely dirty clothes, splattered with mud and dust and who knows what else. They had long swords at their hips, and daggers on their belts. Their packs each lay a few feet from where they sat, leaning against the base of an elm. They were talking together, in not so quiet voices.
"Aron! What do you mean you could take one of those rangers? Pah! You can't even take me!" The oldest looking one retorted.
The one named Aron glared at the oldest one. "I bet I could!"
"You want to try right now? I'll beat you terribly!" The man said.
Aron was about to throw something back, but the youngest looking one cut in.
"Hey! Cut it out! We can't have ourselves killing eachother!"
They both settled down a bit, looking away in anger. "I could still take you." Aron murmered. The eldest one stood up and was about to lay hands on Aron's throat, but was stopped when the youngest took hold of the man's hands and made him stay still.
"Elomier! Stop it! Don't you dare lay a hand on my brother! Don't speak of this anymore you two!" He let go of Elomier's hands and pushed the man back down into a sitting position, sitting back down where he had before after a moment.
They continued to talk about other things, mostly about who could take who on, and who would win. None of this interest Frodo much, so he crawled back out of the bushes, and continued crawling for fear of the three men seeing him. But his need for silence was again shot down by his knee, landing on a twig.
SNAP!
The twig snapped into two pieces under his knee with what seemed like a deafening sound to him. The men in the clearing froze and listened intently. Frodo stilled, his heart racing.
"Elomier! Did you hear that?" Came the voice of the youngest. "Somethings out there!"
"Yah, I heard that Thelin! I think it came from the bushes!" Elomier replied.
The sounds of swords being taken from their hilts came to Frodo's sharp ears, and the loud sounds of Men's feet. Thelin's head appeared over the bushes, and his grey eyes settled on Frodo in wonder. Their eyes locked, and stayed that way for a moment. Frodo could tell that the other two men were behind him waiting for something to happen.
Thelin looked Frodo over, wondering at his appearance. Was it an Elf? No, it couldn't be. Elves didn't have curly hair and big hairy feet. And they most certainly weren't that small. But what was it? It was so fair, dark curly locks falling on his forehead, large blue eyes that seemed an ocean deep, smooth pale skin.
Thelin reached his hand over the bushes and it fastened on Frodo's ankle. Frodo cried out, and leaped back, struggling against his captor. But with no trouble at all, Thelin stood up, letting Frodo hang upside down from his ankle.
Aron and Elomier rushed over to see what Thelin had. Their eyes widened as they took in Frodo's appearance. The same thoughts that Thelin had had were racing though their heads. After a few moments, Aron broke the silence.
"What do you reckon it is, Elomier?" He asked.
"I don't know, Aron. 'Tis a fair one, looks like an Elf. But what Elf has big furry feet?" He grabbed Frodo's other foot and showed Aron. Frodo angrily pulled his foot out of the man's grasp.
"Do you reckon it's a Halfling?" Thelin asked, looking Frodo over again.
A few moments passed before Elomier answered. "I suppose it is. Very fair one though, fairest I've ever seen!"
Frodo was starting to get dizzy, the blood was rushing to his head. He was getting a pounding headache, and his vision was starting to blur a little. Thelin, seeing Frodo's face turning red, turned Frodo right side up, and set him on his feet, putting his hands firmly on the small shoulders. Frodo leaned against his leg for a moment, waiting for the trees to stop spinning.
"What do we do with 'im?" Aron asked, watching the hobbit closely.
Elomier thought for a few moments. "I say we sell 'im! He would be worth a lot, looking the way he does!" Aron nodded in agreement, grinning widely. Thelin didn't reply, rubbing the small arms of the halfling.
Frodo, upon hearing this, opened his eyes widely to find that the dizzyness was gone. "No! Let me go!" He struggled to get free of Thelin's grasp, and succeeded. He started to run, but failed miserably when he felt large arms wrap aorund his small chest, pinning his arms to his sides, and felt himself being held firmly against a large chest.
He struggled hard, twisting and kicking, tearing and yelling. All the while the strong arms of Thelin held him tight and never let go. Though Thelin was finding it hard to hold him, he held him hard, almost crushing the young hobbit unintentionally, making him struggle more. All Frodo knew was that all that denied him escape were the strong arms that held him, and it was all he could do to try and make them let go.
Tears were sliding down Frodo's pale cheeks now, and his cries were strangled by his small sobs.
"P-please! Let m-me g-go!" He struggled until he was well out of energy, his cheeks wet with tears and his face flushed.
Thelin felt the small body go limp in his arms, Frodo's small head resting on his arm, his sleeve wet with tears. The tiny body in his arms trembled with silent sobs, quiet tears falling from the closed eyelids.
Thelin moved the hobbit into a more comfortable position,cradling him to his chest.
"What do we do with him? Do we really have to sell him?" Thelin asked.
"Yes!" Both Aron and Elomier said in unison.
Thelin watched a tear sliding down the hobbits flushed face for a moment, thinking hard and fast. Frodo opened his bleary eyes, fastening his large blue ones on Thelin's grey ones, a single tear streaking down his alreay extremely wet face. Thelin suddenly got an idea.
He turned to the other two. "Let me sell him. I'll go to Bree right now, and sell him for the highest price I get. I'll take him alone, while you two stay here and do whatever."
"The highest price?" Elomier said.
Thelin nodded his head in response.
"How long will it take you to get to Bree?" Aron asked.
"Not very long. About a day, maybe more." Thelin replied.
Aron and Elomier looked at each other for a long moment, seeming to have a silent conversation with their minds. They both turned back to Thelin, to see him watching them expectantly.
"Alright." Elomier finally said. "You've got five days. If you don't get back by then, with the money, we're taking over and you better hope we never see you again."
Aron handed Thelin his pack. "You're leaving tonight, Thelin. Good bye, and come back soon."
Thelin passed Frodo to Aron for a minute, and Aron took him, hugging him to his chest. Thelin slung his pack onto his back, and tightened the straps.
"I'll see you two later." He took Frodo back, again cradling him to his big chest.
And with that, he started off, walking through the brush and leaving the other two men in the clearing.
~*~
Another chapter done, another chapter played. Kinda a long chapter. Yes fluffy at the beginning, to give Frodo a nice life before the horror comes.
Bet ya didn't see this comin, did ya? Did ya?
Well, anyways, see you next chapter!
Read and review please!
-I do not own LOTR or any of its characters-
~*~
Upon setting foot on the threshold of Brandy Hall, Frodo spoke to Merry quietly.
"Merry, I don't think we should tell anyone about Estel."
Merry looked confused. "Why not?"
"Because most hobbits would probably get very frightened if they knew men were walking around the Shire!" He hissed back.
Merry sighed and finally agreed. "Alright then, I won't tell anybody if you won't. Pinky sware?" He held out his little finger to Frodo. Frodo gladly took it with his own, wrapping it around the smaller one.
"Pinky sware." He said. And with that, they both went to their own rooms, ready for a good night sleep. Well, after a small meal at the Brandy Hall kitchen.
~*~
The next day brang gloom to the hobbits. In the middle of the day, the clouds became grey and dark, promising bad weather. Frodo and Merry stayed inside, Merry being so scared of thunderstorms, Frodo stayed inside with him. Frodo and Merry played chess and other games all through the day in Frodo's room, content with staying inside. Many hours later, Merry's father Saradoc Brandybuck came in to tell them to go to bed.
Merry yawned widely and stretched. "I guess Daddy is right, Frodo. Goodnight." And with a small wave to his cousin, he left Frodo's room. Frodo got dressed and got into bed, pulling the covers snuggly around himself. A distant rumble of thunder was heard, and a streek of lightning.
Frodo continued to hear those distant rumbles as he fell slowly into sleep. He dreampt about many things. Elves, Men, Dwarves, Estel, Merry, and Bilbo. Though he didn't know what an Elf or a Dwarf looked like, he could imagine from his dearest Uncle's drawings.
But he was suddenly jostled from his dreams by the sinking of his bed on his side as another body crawled into it. He sat up and looked at the figure sitting next to him on it's knees, it's hands on it's small knees. He squinted in the dark, trying to see who it was. The figure spoke just as another forked lightening streaked the night sky, sending an enormous explosion of thunder after it. It was Merry.
"Frodo! I'm scared!" He jumped into Frodo's arms as the thunder boomed. Frodo held him tightly, feeling him quiver all over. Another forked lightning fell from the heavens, followed by another thunder clap. And then the rain started falling down it heavy sheets, pattering against the windows loudly.
Merry whimpered and shivered harder. Frodo tightened his arms around his young cousin, and started rocking back and forth slowly. Merry started to sob, jumping in fright whenever another thunder clap shook the ground.
"Shhh.. It's ok, Mer. It's ok." Frodo whispered into his cousin's leaf- shaped ear. And he started to sing to him soothingly in elvish.
Merry calmed down somewhat, shaking with silent sobs. He nestled onto Frodo's lap more comfortably, and put his head onto his elder cousin's chest. He listened to Frodo's heart beat, and felt each slow breath he took. It was so soothing alltogether. He let Frodo's rithmick heartbeat lull him slowly to sleep, his breaths evening out and deepening.
Frodo eased his small cousin onto his side, and covered them both with the covers. Merry curled up into a ball, his sandy curls tickling Frodo's chin. Frodo put his arm about Merry, and put his face into the unruly curls. He slowly drifted off to sleep, the deep rumbles of thunder seeming nothing to him.
~*~
The next day both Hobbits awoke refreshed, and dressed.
"Frodo?" Merry said, following him to the Brandy Hall kitchen.
"Yes, Merry?" Frodo answered, standing in line for breakfast, with Merry right behind him.
"Why aren't you afraid of thunderstorms?"
Frodo thought a second before replying. "I'm not afriad of them because I'm inside. Thunderstorms can't get inside, and plus we've got Uncle Sara watching over us to make sure we're safe."
He picked up his tray and waited for Merry. Merry took his and followed Frodo to two empty seats and sat down with him.
Merry thought about Frodo's answer for a moment. "Wow Frodo! You're right, I guess there really isn't much to worry about when Daddy is around."
He hurredly ate his breakfast and went up for Second Breakfast. Frodo finished his and put away his tray. He walked back to where Merry sat, bending down to speak to him.
"Aren't you having more, Frodo?" Merry asked.
"No Merry, I'm not. I'm full! Honestly, with all the food you eat, there won't be any left in Middle Earth!" He and Merry both chuckled lightly. "I'm going to go outside and take a walk for a bit. I'll see you soon, ok Mer?"
"But its so wet outside counsin!" Merry protested.
"I'm not going to let that deter me in the lest bit. Bye Mer, see you soon." And with that, he left Brandy Hall Kitchen.
"Bye Frodo!" Merry yelled after him.
~*~
Outside was cold and wet, and Frodo wrapped his cloak around himslef tighter. There were still some dreary dark clouds in the sky, but none looked like they promised rain. Frodo continued on, walking through the trees and admiring the beauty of it all. Trees surrounded him on all sides, but he always kept the road on his left, and stayed near it.
He stopped suddenly when he heard voices. He knelt and crawled under some bushes on the edge of a small clearing, the same clearing he and Merry had found Estel in. But the Men were nothing like Estel. They were Ruffians, Frodo could tell immdeiatly by the look of them.
There were three of them, all with long black greasy hair, bristly unshaven faces, and grey eyes. All wore terrible looking, extremely dirty clothes, splattered with mud and dust and who knows what else. They had long swords at their hips, and daggers on their belts. Their packs each lay a few feet from where they sat, leaning against the base of an elm. They were talking together, in not so quiet voices.
"Aron! What do you mean you could take one of those rangers? Pah! You can't even take me!" The oldest looking one retorted.
The one named Aron glared at the oldest one. "I bet I could!"
"You want to try right now? I'll beat you terribly!" The man said.
Aron was about to throw something back, but the youngest looking one cut in.
"Hey! Cut it out! We can't have ourselves killing eachother!"
They both settled down a bit, looking away in anger. "I could still take you." Aron murmered. The eldest one stood up and was about to lay hands on Aron's throat, but was stopped when the youngest took hold of the man's hands and made him stay still.
"Elomier! Stop it! Don't you dare lay a hand on my brother! Don't speak of this anymore you two!" He let go of Elomier's hands and pushed the man back down into a sitting position, sitting back down where he had before after a moment.
They continued to talk about other things, mostly about who could take who on, and who would win. None of this interest Frodo much, so he crawled back out of the bushes, and continued crawling for fear of the three men seeing him. But his need for silence was again shot down by his knee, landing on a twig.
SNAP!
The twig snapped into two pieces under his knee with what seemed like a deafening sound to him. The men in the clearing froze and listened intently. Frodo stilled, his heart racing.
"Elomier! Did you hear that?" Came the voice of the youngest. "Somethings out there!"
"Yah, I heard that Thelin! I think it came from the bushes!" Elomier replied.
The sounds of swords being taken from their hilts came to Frodo's sharp ears, and the loud sounds of Men's feet. Thelin's head appeared over the bushes, and his grey eyes settled on Frodo in wonder. Their eyes locked, and stayed that way for a moment. Frodo could tell that the other two men were behind him waiting for something to happen.
Thelin looked Frodo over, wondering at his appearance. Was it an Elf? No, it couldn't be. Elves didn't have curly hair and big hairy feet. And they most certainly weren't that small. But what was it? It was so fair, dark curly locks falling on his forehead, large blue eyes that seemed an ocean deep, smooth pale skin.
Thelin reached his hand over the bushes and it fastened on Frodo's ankle. Frodo cried out, and leaped back, struggling against his captor. But with no trouble at all, Thelin stood up, letting Frodo hang upside down from his ankle.
Aron and Elomier rushed over to see what Thelin had. Their eyes widened as they took in Frodo's appearance. The same thoughts that Thelin had had were racing though their heads. After a few moments, Aron broke the silence.
"What do you reckon it is, Elomier?" He asked.
"I don't know, Aron. 'Tis a fair one, looks like an Elf. But what Elf has big furry feet?" He grabbed Frodo's other foot and showed Aron. Frodo angrily pulled his foot out of the man's grasp.
"Do you reckon it's a Halfling?" Thelin asked, looking Frodo over again.
A few moments passed before Elomier answered. "I suppose it is. Very fair one though, fairest I've ever seen!"
Frodo was starting to get dizzy, the blood was rushing to his head. He was getting a pounding headache, and his vision was starting to blur a little. Thelin, seeing Frodo's face turning red, turned Frodo right side up, and set him on his feet, putting his hands firmly on the small shoulders. Frodo leaned against his leg for a moment, waiting for the trees to stop spinning.
"What do we do with 'im?" Aron asked, watching the hobbit closely.
Elomier thought for a few moments. "I say we sell 'im! He would be worth a lot, looking the way he does!" Aron nodded in agreement, grinning widely. Thelin didn't reply, rubbing the small arms of the halfling.
Frodo, upon hearing this, opened his eyes widely to find that the dizzyness was gone. "No! Let me go!" He struggled to get free of Thelin's grasp, and succeeded. He started to run, but failed miserably when he felt large arms wrap aorund his small chest, pinning his arms to his sides, and felt himself being held firmly against a large chest.
He struggled hard, twisting and kicking, tearing and yelling. All the while the strong arms of Thelin held him tight and never let go. Though Thelin was finding it hard to hold him, he held him hard, almost crushing the young hobbit unintentionally, making him struggle more. All Frodo knew was that all that denied him escape were the strong arms that held him, and it was all he could do to try and make them let go.
Tears were sliding down Frodo's pale cheeks now, and his cries were strangled by his small sobs.
"P-please! Let m-me g-go!" He struggled until he was well out of energy, his cheeks wet with tears and his face flushed.
Thelin felt the small body go limp in his arms, Frodo's small head resting on his arm, his sleeve wet with tears. The tiny body in his arms trembled with silent sobs, quiet tears falling from the closed eyelids.
Thelin moved the hobbit into a more comfortable position,cradling him to his chest.
"What do we do with him? Do we really have to sell him?" Thelin asked.
"Yes!" Both Aron and Elomier said in unison.
Thelin watched a tear sliding down the hobbits flushed face for a moment, thinking hard and fast. Frodo opened his bleary eyes, fastening his large blue ones on Thelin's grey ones, a single tear streaking down his alreay extremely wet face. Thelin suddenly got an idea.
He turned to the other two. "Let me sell him. I'll go to Bree right now, and sell him for the highest price I get. I'll take him alone, while you two stay here and do whatever."
"The highest price?" Elomier said.
Thelin nodded his head in response.
"How long will it take you to get to Bree?" Aron asked.
"Not very long. About a day, maybe more." Thelin replied.
Aron and Elomier looked at each other for a long moment, seeming to have a silent conversation with their minds. They both turned back to Thelin, to see him watching them expectantly.
"Alright." Elomier finally said. "You've got five days. If you don't get back by then, with the money, we're taking over and you better hope we never see you again."
Aron handed Thelin his pack. "You're leaving tonight, Thelin. Good bye, and come back soon."
Thelin passed Frodo to Aron for a minute, and Aron took him, hugging him to his chest. Thelin slung his pack onto his back, and tightened the straps.
"I'll see you two later." He took Frodo back, again cradling him to his big chest.
And with that, he started off, walking through the brush and leaving the other two men in the clearing.
~*~
Another chapter done, another chapter played. Kinda a long chapter. Yes fluffy at the beginning, to give Frodo a nice life before the horror comes.
Bet ya didn't see this comin, did ya? Did ya?
Well, anyways, see you next chapter!
Read and review please!