A/N: Well, thank you guys for all of your reviews so far. I'm hoping to get up to 50, so keep reviewing.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkien's. Except for my collection of LOTR books, and the first two movies.
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Chapter Eight: Conversations and an Attack
Meryl whirled around, mouth open. "H-How do you know my name?" she stammered.
"I know everything about you," was the calm reply. "I am, after all, an Istari. Now, come sit down and let's talk."
Speechless and wide-eyed, Meryl followed the wizard's request. She turned to face him, and saw that he was smiling gently.
"Now," he said, "when will you tell the others about your past?"
Meryl's eyes narrowed. "I won't tell them," she replied sharply.
"Why not?"
"Because if they do find out, then I will have nowhere else to go. They wouldn't like my lying, and would probably throw me out on my ear. Besides, if you remember, I am not from this world and I have no clue about how to get back to my own."
"Then why don't you befriend some of them? When you do finally talk about your past, they would support you. They would most likely let you stay with them."
Meryl was about to answer, but she closed her mouth. She suddenly found the ground very interesting. She stared at her feet, and said nothing.
"You fear more pain. You do not want anyone to die, and you having to grieve over them." This wasn't a question, but a statement. "You do not want the feelings you experienced when Brian died to come back again."
Meryl looked up and stared into Gandalf's eyes. "How do you know about Brian?" she whispered. She smirked half-heartedly. "Wait, let me guess, you know everything about me, right?"
"Maybe not everything," the Istari admitted, "but I do know a lot about you."
"Do you know why I'm here?"
Gandalf nodded slowly. "But now is not the right time to tell you."
"Why not?" demanded Meryl.
Gandalf stood up. "It is late, and Legolas said that he was escorting you to your room. So, I will let you get to bed."
"Hold on!" cried Meryl. "First you tell me you know why I'm here, and now you're blowing me off when I ask why! Give me a straight answer."
"It is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
"Yeah? What sort of affairs do you have that involve me?" When there was no answer, she said, "Well, you haven't seen anger until you've messed with me." She stood up and stormed away from the wizard, muttering angrily underneath her breath. She felt her eyes grow moist as tears threatened to spill over.
{Crap,} she thought, {why does everything have to happen to me? All I want to do is go home.}
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Legolas leaned against the pillar, utterly bored. For a while, he would toy with his knife, flipping it in the air and catching it, but that grew tiresome in a short amount of time. He slid the knife back into its sheath and sighed.
{I hope this does not take any longer,} he thought.
His hopes seemed to have been answered, when Meryl stomped past him. He began to follow her, saying, "Meryl, wait."
She stopped and turned around. Legolas was surprised to see that tears flowed freely down her face. "Meryl, what is wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing," she said thickly, as if she had a terrible cold. "Nothing of your concern." She turned around and dashed down the halls, which was somewhat difficult because of the dress and shoes that she wore. Nevertheless, she disappeared from Legolas's sight as she rounded a corner.
Without another thought, Legolas took off after her. His feet almost made no sound as he ran down the halls. It took only minutes before he caught up with Meryl. She had stopped running and was leaning heavily against a pillar, crying.
"Meryl, what happened?" he asked gently as he walked over to her.
She glared at him with red eyes. "Nothing happened, okay?" she snapped. "Nothing that you should know at least, so leave me alone!"
"Do you know the way back to your room?" questioned the Elf calmly.
Meryl cast him a withering glance. "No, not really," she admitted with a small, embarrassed smile.
"Then I cannot leave you alone. Judging by your current state, you would get lost if I left you right now. You just ran in one large circle."
Meryl glanced around her surroundings. Sure enough, she was leaning against the pillar that Legolas had while he waited for her conversation with Gandalf to end. It was also the same one that Gandalf had used for support when he interrupted Legolas and Meryl on their way to her room.
She took a deep breath and was about to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, when Legolas interrupted by saying, "No, do not do that. You will ruin your dress. Here, if you need to wipe your eyes, you can use my sleeve. It has seen worst fates."
He extended his arm and Meryl smiled shakily, and shook her head. "I don't need it." Instead she took his arm and began walking, or began walking away while Legolas stayed still. He was pulled off balance and he stumbled along behind her.
"Well come on, you're supposed to be escorting me," scolded Meryl sarcastically, not even looking once at Legolas.
"If you just let me get on my feet," Legolas replied, "then I can escort you."
Meryl realized what she was doing, and she stopped. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She let go of the Elf's arm.
The Prince of Mirkwood caught his balance, and bowed, not missing a beat along the way. He extended his arm again. "It is all right. Care to try again?" he offered.
"Gladly," she said as she took it and they began walking. She yawned, and quickly tried to cover it with her other hand, but Legolas noticed it.
"A little tired?" he teased. "You look like you are about to fall asleep on your own two feet."
Meryl made a face at him. "You know, I could give you the same treatment I gave that Laeras guy. A quick punch in the face would wipe that smile right off," she threatened.
"I am sure it would, but I am only speaking in jest. He was not."
Meryl pretended to consider this. "That is true." She smiled, for she was lost in memory. "Even though he was older than me, Dae and I sure kicked the crap out of him. And I'm only eighteen."
Legolas suddenly stopped. He turned to face her. "Only eighteen? You are but a child!"
Meryl glared at him. "You are but a child'? Excuse me, but where I come from, I'm legally considered an adult. Just because you're an Elf doesn't mean-- why are you looking at me like that?"
Legolas's eyes had widened and he stared at Meryl. "Lady Meryl, you have remembered something!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Where you come from. You said that you were considered an adult."
Meryl smiled weakly. "I guess I did, didn't I?" {Stupid Meryl!} she yelled at herself. {You idiot! You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?}
Legolas glanced at her. "You do not seem all that excited," he told her.
"I guess that I'm a little tired at the moment to be really happy for my recovering memory," snapped Meryl.
Legolas was startled. He must have shown his surprise, because Meryl's look softened.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," she said. Before Legolas could reply, she changed the subject. "Anyways, in Elven culture, how old would I be if I was an Elf?"
Legolas thought this over. "You are eighteen, correct?"
Meryl nodded.
"In my culture, you would be about... a toddler's age." He grinned down at Meryl. "Maybe that is what I should call you from now on. My little toddler."
Meryl glared up at him. "If you dare, then I *will* punch you."
They stopped in front of her bedroom door. Meryl slid her arm out of Legolas's and turned to face him. "Thank you for escorting me, and for preventing me from being bored in the Hall of Fire."
"It was my pleasure," replied the Elven prince. "Lisse' olos, my little toddler."
Instead of punching Legolas, like she had threatened to, Meryl's eyes watered up. Quickly she opened her door and ran inside. She slammed it shut, leaving a stunned Elf. She leaned against the door, crying into her hands.
"Andrew," she whispered.
She was interrupted, however, by Liselle. "Miss Meryl? Are you all right? Has something happened?"
Meryl looked up and stared into her handmaiden's concerned brown eyes. "N-no," she stammered. "Nothing's happened. I just wish..."
"You wish what?"
Meryl shook her head. "Nothing. Do you think that you can help get me out of my dress?"
Her maiden smiled. "Of course."
Liselle gently helped Meryl out of her dress, and then brought the girl a nightgown to wear. Meryl quietly slipped it on over her head and then went and sat down in one of the chairs, her arms draped over the armrests. Liselle quietly left the room, snuffing out most of the candles. The only light was the candle that sat on Meryl's bedside table.
Dae jumped off of the bed and went to sit next to his mistress. He slid underneath one of her arms, and flipped it so it would rest on top of his head. He sat down while Meryl absentmindedly scratched his silky ears.
"Oh, Dae," she said. "If I keep crying at everything that reminds me of home, they'll know that something's up. What do I do? I can't keeping saying that it's nothing."
The black Lab sat and did nothing. Meryl glanced down at him. "I guess that the only thing I can do is promise myself that I won't think of home."
Her dog stood up and went to the bed. He jumped on it and yawned. He collapsed and put his head on his paws. Meryl stood from her chair. "Dae, down. The only person who's sleeping on the bed is me."
The black Labrador unhappily leaped down and lay down at the foot of the bed. Meryl climbed into bed and blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. She pulled the covers up to her chin, and quickly fell asleep.
When Dae was sure that his mistress was asleep, he stood up. He leaped back on the bed and settled himself at Meryl's feet. If she could sleep on the bed, why couldn't he?
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Morning soon came, and Meryl woke up to see her dog sleeping on her feet. She rolled her eyes and pulled the covers off, and set them over Dae. She rolled off the bed and stood up. She glanced around the room. Liselle must have come in during the night, because Meryl's clothes were set out.
She went over to a chair and quickly pulled on a pair of dark blue breeches, and a white, long-sleeved blouse. She didn't bother putting on the light blue tunic, because she knew that she would overheat wearing all of those clothes.
She opened the door, and Dae instantly woke up. He squirmed out of the blankets, leaped off of the bed and ran to Meryl's side. Meryl grinned at her dog. "I knew that would get you awake."
He just looked up at her, and walked out of the door. Meryl stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Now, what do you want to do?" she asked Dae.
Dae just looked up at his mistress. Meryl sighed. "Well, I'm not hungry at the moment. Let's go for a walk."
Dae's ears pricked up and he wagged his tail. He barked and began to run in circles around Meryl, as she walked down the hallway. Meryl grinned and walked outside. The crisp morning air greeted her, as did the songbirds. She spied a wooded path that led into the trees.
"Dae, come," she said. She stepped on the path and began to follow it. Birds sang joyously as she walked below (she hoped that they would refrain from giving her any "presents"). The trees would block most of the light, but sometimes when the wind would blow, the sunlight would slip between the cracks of the leaves while they shook.
Dae ran ahead, barking. He had spotted some squirrels, and was engrossed in the joy of the chase. The squirrels quickly fled up the trees. Dae put his paws on the trunk of one of the trees, panting. His tongue lolled out and at one side.
Meryl smiled and called, "Dae, you won't be getting those squirrels anytime soon. Heel."
Her dog glanced over his shoulder as if saying, "Do I really have to?". He jumped from the tree and went to walk on his mistress's left side. They continued their walk in silence. The only noises were Dae's jingling tags, and the sound of the feet hitting the path.
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There he was, up in a tree. A quiver containing only one arrow was on his back; a bow in his hand. He knelt there, waiting. He had heard her come out with her dog.
His ears twitched. They were coming. He could hear them. The girl had softly began humming to herself. The melody drifted to his ears. It was a pretty sound, although he had no clue what the song was. He would have to ask her before he killed her.
He narrowed his eyes. They were almost in his range. He took the single arrow from his quiver and fitted it to his bow. He would only need one arrow to kill his target. He aimed and waited.
There! They were in range. He quickly aimed, and released the arrow. It hissed through the air and it landed in the dog's hind leg. It cried out and collapsed.
"Dae!" the girl screamed and ran to her dog.
Laeras cursed silently to himself. He had been too slow. The dog must have seen some squirrels and bolted at the last second. He had failed. No matter. He had plenty more chances. He smiled to himself, and leaped from the tree to the forest floor, not making a sound the whole time. He quietly slipped away and disappeared into the forest.
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Meryl and Dae walked along. Meryl was growing bored, so she began humming "Greensleeves" to herself. She saw that Dae had run ahead again; apparently he had spotted a chipmunk. She suddenly heard a hiss, and saw Dae fall over, howling. Horrorstricken, she saw the arrow that protruded from his hind leg.
"Dae!" she screamed and ran to his side. Her dog whimpered. Red blood was beginning to leak from the wound, flowing to soak the wooded path.
"Help!" cried Meryl. "Somebody! Help!"
Nobody answered her except for the singing birds. Meryl berated herself for not wearing her tunic that morning. It would have made a useful bandage. There was no time to dwell on that; she needed to help Dae.
She stroked Dae's ears. "It's going to be okay," she crooned. "Somebody will come."
Dae whined and closed his eyes. Meryl was frantic to tears.
The birds whistled. Meryl closed her eyes and tried to listen to them, to calm herself down. She kept on petting Dae, talking softly to him. The birds almost seemed to whistle that old walking song that Bilbo the hobbit always sang. A thought crossed her mind. That wasn't the birds singing; it was a person.
"Tua! Tua!" she screamed frantically. Help! Help!
The whistled came closer, and Meryl could see who it was in the distance. It was one of the twins, carrying a string of freshly killed rabbits. His bow and quiver of arrows had been placed on his back. Meryl yelled for help even louder. He must have heard her, for he broke out into a run, his long hair streaming out behind him. In no time he was at Meryl's side.
"What happened?" he asked gently as he knelt next to Meryl. She realized that it was Elrohir; not very many Elves had that gentle tone of voice. It reminded her of Andrew.
Meryl chased that thought out of her head and quickly told him what had happened and his face tightened. "I will see what I can do to relieve his pain. We must get him to my father quickly," he said.
Meryl nodded. "Please, you must help him."
"I will do my best."
Elrohir took off his tunic and began ripping it into long strips. When he was finished he handed them to Meryl saying, "Hold on to these." He then turned back to Dae and held the arrow. "This will hurt," he told the dog. With a quick jerk of his wrist, he yanked the arrow out of Dae's leg. The Labrador howled and rolled onto his back and began wiggling around.
"Give me a strip," Elrohir said softly. Meryl was surprised. He was quiet and gentle even when giving out commands. Someone else would have barked at her to hand over the strip. She handed one to him.
"Thank you," he said. He tied it around the struggling Dae's wound, stopping some of the blood from flowing. Before even being asked, Meryl gave him another one. This continued on, until all of the strips had been used up. Dae now had a large bandage encasing his leg. Elrohir collected the dog into his arms and stood up. "Let's go."
He began running at a high speed. It took almost all of Meryl's energy to keep up with him. In only a few moments, she was gasping for breath and her legs screamed in pain. Elrohir noticed this. "Save your energy. If you return with none to spare, than I will have to carry two patients. Do not worry. He will be fine."
Meryl nodded and slowed down to a heavy jog. Elrohir sped ahead, and soon disappeared over the horizon.
{Please let Dae be okay. Please let Dae be okay,} Meryl chanted in her head. {He's the only one I have left. Let him be okay.} Her eyes became moist as she realized at what she thought. "He's the only one I have left. It's true too. First Brian has to die, and then I get thrown into another dimension. Now I have only Dae. No Mom, no Dad, no Andrew. Nobody."
Tears threatened to spill over, but Meryl shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about things like that. She had to remember her promise to herself. She quickened her pace and ran. The Last Homely House was only a little ways ahead.
Meryl dashed through the door she had left out of earlier and ran down the halls. She ignored the looks that passing Elves gave her and sped down the corridor. At least, she did until she realized: she had no clue where Elrohir had taken Dae.
{Crap!} she thought. {Where did he go?}
She sprinted by Legolas, who turned around and watched her run past. She only made it to the corner of the next hallway, before she stopped in her tracks. She dashed back and looked at Legolas with a panic-stricken face. "Legolas! Where did they take him?" she asked frantically.
"Take who?" asked the prince of Mirkwood.
"Dae!" shrieked Meryl, causing many Elves to glance at her in confusion. Why was she talking about shadows? "Somebody decides to use him as target practice, and now I can't find where they took him! Where is he?"
Legolas put his hands on Meryl's shoulders and stared into her grass green eyes. "Calm down, my lady. Take deep breaths. Now, tell me what has happened."
Meryl did as she was told, and slowly proceeded to tell Legolas. His face grew pale as she told of the arrow. A thought strayed into his head that it might have not been Dae that the mystery archer had been aiming or, but Meryl herself.
"I do not know where Elrohir may have taken Dae, but I will help you find them," he told her. In reply, he found himself in a tight hug.
"Thank you," whispered Meryl, her held-back tears spilling over. "Thank you so much."
{She is really worried if she has resorted to hugging as a thank you,} thought Legolas.
Meryl released him and stared at the ground. "I apologize for that. I'm just so..."
"I believe that the word you are searching for is worried?" he supplied.
Meryl nodded. "And when you said that you would help, I just felt so relieved."
Legolas nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come, let us look for Dae."
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A/N: And that wraps up Chapter Eight. Now it's time for you to go and press the little button that says review.
Also, my hedgehog is still nameless. I NEED MORE NAMES PLEASE!!!
By the Lion's Mane,
Leo