A Hero
Chapter 4
"Are you alright?" Asked the man.
"I..." Merry couldn't answer, what was there to say? He had just seen a man being murdered, and he didn't know which to be more frightened of, the man who had been hitting him or the man that had killed the man who had been hitting him. He had said his name was Aragorn and that he was a friend, but Merry knew nothing about men so this man could very well be lying to him.
"Are you alright?" The voice came again. "I am sorry if I frightened you, but I couldn't just let that man beat you to death. I am not like him."
"I'm sorry," Merry said finally. "My knowledge of men is very limited, and to have the very first one that I have ever met kidnap me...Well, what can I say? It is a bit disturbing.
"I am sure it is." Said the man. "And who might you be?"
"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck of the Shire. I am very pleased to meet you."
"Well Meriadoc Brandybuck..."
"Merry, Please sir."
"Okay Merry, what did that man want with you?" Asked Aragorn pointing at the corpse of Teylor.
"I don't exactly know," said the hobbit. "He said something about me having power."
"What kind of power?"
"I don't know. He said I could find something that was lost...You know something about this, don't you?"
Aragorn looked at the hobbit in surprise. "I....I don't know, but I know someone who might. Who did the man say he was working for?"
"Sauron....."
"Sauron? Are you sure?"
"yes."
"Then I can not return you to the Shire now anyway. There will be more of his servants looking for you, and I can't always be there to save you. Instead I suggest we go to Imladris, where Lord Elrond and the elves will look after you. Elrond may also know what it is Sauron is seeking. So you will come?"
"I really should be getting back! My family will be worried sick about me. They must know that I am alright."
"I can't just let you go back, and I can't stay there with you. I promise I will send a messenger to your family once we reach Rivendell, but you must come with me now. Please Merry, it is for your safety that I would ask."
"I am so scared, Aragorn. I have never been away from the Shire. Where are we now anyway?"
"We are a day and a half out of the Shire. Do you wish to continue the journey?"
Merry thought about this for a moment. If Aragorn were right and truthful, he would never be left alone. He had never been away from the Shire, let alone traveling with a man that he had just watched murder someone. The choice had to be made. This man had probably saved his life, and though he was not sure if he could trust him, Merry made the decision to travel to this Rivendell.
"I will go with you, Aragorn."
"Good. The road is three weeks long, so we had better start moving."
Merry and Aragorn left behind the clearing and the body of Teylor.
It had been a day and a half since Merry had last been seen, and Pippin was beyond hysterical. He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Merry. He had gone to Merry's home the day after Merry had helped him to get home, and had found that Merry had not returned home that night at all. He thought perhaps Merry had just fallen over drunk in the bushes and was just sleeping it off, but when he didn't return that night, Pippin was really worried.
Now as evening was coming on to finish the second day, Frodo came riding up to Brandyhall to see just what was going on.
"Frodo? What are you doing here?" Asked Pippin.
"What do you think? Have they found him yet?"
"No, I've been here since yesterday, and he still hasn't come back. How did you know?"
"I was told by Ted Sandyman that something had happened to Merry. I've been riding since yesterday, and boy does my arse ever hurt."
"What are we going to do if something's happened to him?" Asked Pippin despondently.
"Well, we go after him. Are you up to it?"
"Yes...."
"Great! We start tomorrow."
Hello, and thanks for the reviews on the first chap. I know the first three chapters should be separate but that's just the way the document loaded, so I will go back and fix it eventually, but that'll take time I don't have right now. I will get back to it sometime, I promise you.
SamwiseTS
