A/N: Well, I'm posting this as our football team is playing Germantown for the Division 2 State finals in Wisconsin. Sadly, they're getting their butts kicked. Well, we won last year, so I guess it's time to pass on the championship title...

Anyways, I have chosen the five names for you guys to vote on. They'll be posted on my ending author's note. So without further delay, here's Chapter Eleven!

{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~ Chapter Eleven: Sleep is a very nice thing

Meryl awoke to something warm and wet brushing across her face. It took her a few moments to realize what it was.

"Gerrof Dae," she mumbled.

She realized that her eyes were closed, so she opened them. She found herself staring into her dog's eyes. A bright light surrounded his head like a halo.

"Move dog!" came a voice and a hand gently pushed Dae aside, causing the light to shine into Meryl's eyes and blinding her.

"His name is Dae!" snapped another.

"Nessa, Meryl just fell out of a tree! Does it look like I care what its bloody name is?"

"Nessa," came another voice. "Just hold onto Dae and make sure that he doesn't come over."

"Alright."

Four heads blocked the light. Meryl recognized that it was the four younger Elves. It was Mahtan and Nessa who had spoken.

"Meryl are you all right?" Gilraen asked. "Does anything hurt?"

"What happened?" The words couldn't fit around Meryl's tongue. It was as if it had turned to stone.

"You bloody well fell out of a tree!" exclaimed Golradir. "You are going to give me nightmares for a month, the way you were screaming."

Meryl smiled faintly. A wave of sudden weariness ran through her body. "That's nice. Just let me sleep now." She closed her eyes and curled up into a ball, but instantly was roughly shaken.

"You have to stay awake," instructed Golradir. "Open your eyes!"

Meryl squeezed them shut. "Lemme sleep," she whined.

She was shaken even more vigorously this time. "Stay awake!"

"Leave me alone."

"This is not good," she heard Golradir say. "Mahtan, run and get Queen Arwen. She will know what to do."

"But-- our secret place."

"She can keep a secret!" she heard Nessa say. "Now go!"

Footsteps faded away and Meryl rolled over and tried to curl up into a ball again. Again, she was shaken awake. She groaned and rolled over again. All she wanted to do was sleep!

"Keep her awake," came Golradir's voice. "If she goes to sleep, we may not be able to wake her up."

Darkness began to grow in the corner of Meryl's mind. A nice long rest sounded good to her. All she needed to do was convince them that she was okay. She opened her eyes. "You guys, I'm fine. Really."

Gilraen shook her head. "No you are not."

"Fine, I'll just ignore you guys and go to sleep." Meryl closed her eyes. She felt her face muscles relax and she slowly slipped into the growing darkness.

"No!" she was roughly shaken, but she didn't stir.

"Lemme sleep," she mumbled. She began feeling peaceful and she felt a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. Darkness surrounded her, offering peace and comfort.

"She is not waking up!" came a voice from the darkness.

"Move over!" came another voice. There was rustling before the voice spoke again. "I apologize, my lady. This is for your own good."

Suddenly, there was a stab of pain on Meryl's cheek that brought her back to reality. Apparently, she had been slapped. She winced and opened her eyes.

There knelt Gilraen, as white as a sheet. "I just hit a lady!" she said. "I cannot believe what I have done."

Meryl smiled; her eyes were glazed and out of focus. "You sound like my brother, only he was joking when he would hit me." She giggled. "Andrew would always joke." Her eyes slowly closed again. "He was serious only when something serious was occurring."

"What is she talking about?" she heard Nessa whisper. "Is she hallucinating?"

The answer never came, for footsteps pounded closer and closer. Meryl was aware that aside from hearing two pairs of feet, she heard more.

The footsteps stopped and she felt somebody's breath on her cheek.

"Meryl," a voice said quietly. It sounded like silk sliding over glass. "Open your eyes."

"Lemme sleep," Meryl mumbled and she rolled onto her side.

She was gently pushed on her back. A cool hand rested itself on her cheek. "Open your eyes."

Meryl tried to resist, but found that she couldn't. Slowly she opened her grass-green eyes and stared into Arwen's blue ones.

"Does anything hurt?"

A light was slowly cutting down the darkness in Meryl's mind. She blinked as the words set in, and then smiled weakly. "Only my pride."

Arwen frowned. "This is no time for jokes, Lady."

"Please don't call me that," Meryl moaned. "Nothing hurts, okay?" She was suddenly aware of a pounding pain in her temples. "Never mind. I've got a killer headache."

Arwen didn't look satisfied, but sighed. "Your mind is unhurt for the most part, except for a concussion. We must get you to my father, just in case there is any internal bleeding." She glanced up. "Alright, let's get her back."

A shadow fell across Meryl, and she found that she staring up at one of the twins. She couldn't tell which one it was, though. She really needed to find a way to tell the two apart.

He smiled at her. "It seems that I get to bring you in as a patient after all."

"All aboard the Elrohir Express," Meryl replied, realizing which twin it was.

Elrohir gave her a strange look. He knelt down and gently collected injured girl into his arms. He stood up and turned to the four elflings. Nessa released her grip on Dae's collar. "My sister and I have promised not to tell your secret," he told them. "You did a deed that most Elves your age would not have been able to do. If it was not for you four, the Lady Meryl here would most likely be dead."

"Please don't call me lady," Meryl said into his shirt. "I'm no lady."

"I agree entirely," said Elrohir. "For a lady would be too scared to climb the tree in the first place. You, however, you had courage to do that."

"That's nice." Meryl yawned. "Now be quiet and let me sleep."

Elrohir and Arwen hurried towards the entrance into the hidden glade with Dae following.

"I am afraid I cannot do that just yet," replied Elrohir and he shook Meryl. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

They were now in the tunnel. All Meryl could hear was the breathing of the two Elves and Dae's panting. Why couldn't she hear herself? She began panicking, but then realized that she was holding her breath. Quickly, she took a deep breath and exhaled.

The small group was out of the tunnel now, and was now en route to the Last Homely House. Every time that Meryl closed her eyes, Elrohir would shake her awake. Her complaints fell on deaf ears as they hurried on.

Dae fell behind more than once, but mustered his strength to keep going. Meryl saw this and she worriedly told Arwen. The Queen of Gondor nodded and stopped running, commanding Dae to come. Elrohir stopped also.

The Lab glanced at his mistress who replied, "Stay with Arwen."

With this said, Elrohir pulled ahead, so that Arwen and Dae disappeared from view in a matter of moments. Meryl watched as her dog turned into a tiny black speck.

"Will he be okay?" she asked Elrohir. "What if he thinks that I'm leaving him?"

"Of course he will be all right. He is a very loyal dog, and is quite intelligent."

"That's... good." The darkness was returning to Meryl's mind; even faster than before. She felt herself slipping away, slowly sinking in the blackness. She closed her eyes and drifted away. The last thing that she was aware of was a worried voice calling her name, and that she was sliding away, being carried off into the dark void...

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When she opened her eyes the first thing that she noticed was that her body flamed with pain. It hurt even to breathe. She then noticed that her clothes had been changed; now she wore a silken nightdress with lacy frills at the cuffs and the hem, that looked like it was going to fall apart at a mere touch. How... feminine.

Her eyes darted around her room. Was somebody there? She opened her mouth meaning to ask, but all that came out was a moan.

She heard a chair scrape against the carpeted floor. Footsteps hurried over to her bedside. Liselle's face peered over and stared into Meryl's eyes. "My Lady! You are awake!"

"Please don't call me that. What time is it?"

"It is past the noon hour," replied the Elf. "King Aragorn and Prince Legolas have just left. If you wait a moment, I will go and tell them that you are up."

Before Meryl could even reply, the handmaiden was gone. Footsteps echoing down the hall told her that Liselle had left the room. She tried to roll over on her side, but a wave of pain kept her on her back. She stared at the ceiling and waited for everybody to come back. The sound of pounding feet told her of her friends' arrival.

"Thank the Valar that you are awake!" came Aragorn's voice. His face came into Meryl's view. "How are you feeling?"

"If feeling a sharp stab of pain every time you try to move is feeling good, then I'm all hunky-dory," came the sarcastic reply.

"She sounds as if she is fine," came another voice. Legolas's grinning face appeared in Meryl's field of vision.

She glared at him. "If I wasn't in so much pain, I would hit you with my pillow."

Legolas's smile disappeared. "Are you feeling all right? Do you need us for anything?"

Meryl grimaced. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Aragorn replied.

"What's my condition?"

His face grew grim. "Your life was hanging by a thread, for two out of the three days. The pain that you are feeling is probably your body being so sore from falling out of the tree, that it is painful to even move."

"Lovely," Meryl said. "So, you're saying that I've been playing a game of tag with Death for two days?"

Legolas nodded with an expression caught between confused and angry. "You were playing no game, Lady Meryl. This was your life."

Meryl rolled her eyes. "It's a play on words Legolas. Don't take everything so seriously." A memory hit her like a lightning bolt. "Dae, where's Dae?" She tried to sit up, but a wave of fresh pain told her otherwise. She winced and laid back against her mattress.

Immediately, Aragorn and Legolas were concerned. Both asked her if she was all right. Meryl sighed and quickly replied. She asked about Dae again.

The Prince of Mirkwood rested a hand on her shoulder and told her, "Dae is all right. He is down in the kitchens with Gimli, getting something to eat. They should be returning very soon."

Meryl relaxed. "Last I remember seeing him, I was leaving him behind." The corners of her mouth twitched, as if a small sad smile was fighting to get out. "He's very smart, and I thought that he would have thought that I was abandoning him."

Aragorn shook his head. "I do not think so, my lady. He has been by your bedside ever since he had returned. Gimli had to drag him to the kitchens with him. We think that it's best that he does not visit for a while."

"That sounds like him." Meryl smiled. "When can he visit then?"

"We do not know. He sure put up a fight, that he did," added Legolas. "He seemed like a wildcat, trying to get back to your side."

"I bet he did."

This worried Legolas. Meryl would usually be demanding to see Dae by now. And when she was told that she couldn't see him, she didn't put up a fight. Instead she only smiled and didn't say anything.

Liselle hustled back into the room. She squared her shoulders, and crossed her arms, to act as the authority figure. "Now, now. Miss Meryl has had enough for one day. It is time for her to rest."

"But it's only been a few minutes," Meryl protested.

"You must recover your strength. If you overdo everything, you will injure yourself even more."

Meryl rolled her eyes. Aragorn saw this and smiled. She seemed like she was recovering well enough. "Well, we will let you rest now," he said. "It is about time to eat our noon meal. Come, Legolas."

He turned around and left the room. Legolas followed, but paused in the doorway. He turned to face Meryl and said with a mischievous grin, "Lisse' olos, my little toddler." He darted through the doorway and disappeared down the hall.

Meryl's eyes widened in horror, but then narrowed. "LEGOLAS!" she yelled. "YOU GET YOUR STINKING ARSE BACK HERE!" Forgetting about her injuries, she tried to sit up once again. Unfortunately, she sat up too hard, and being so very weak, wasn't able to keep her balance. She tried to grab for something, but only grasped a pillow as she felt the mattress disappear from underneath her. She crashed facedown to the floor, taking the pillow and one of her blankets with her. She clutched the pillow to her chest.

"Ow, dammit," she grumbled. She tried to get up, and then winced. Pain spread through her body like wildfire. Meryl felt a few tears gather at the outside corners of her eyes. She took a ragged gasp.

Liselle rushed over and knelt down at Meryl's side. "Miss Meryl! Are you all right?"

"Don't... call... me that," whispered Meryl. She blinked and grimaced. "Liselle, I can't get up. It hurts too much."

The Elf's eyes were wide. "I shall run and find some help."

Meryl watched as Liselle left the room. She heard the Elf's feet lightly pound down the hallway. Tears stung her eyes. She hated this! She hated being helpless, she hated having to be so secretive, and she especially hated that she was wearing a frilly nightdress!

"Whatever happened to pajama pants?" she grumbled. She stuffed her face into her pillow and screamed her frustration into it. The bulk of the pillow muffled the sound.

"I want to go home," Meryl whispered bitterly into the pillow. "I wish that none of this had ever happened."

It was a few minutes before Liselle hurried back into the room. She went to Meryl's side and knelt down. "I have found Gandalf. He has gone to fetch somebody to help."

Meryl rolled her eyes. "Well that's a help," she said angrily. "I can't take this waiting anymore." Clenching her teeth, she pushed against the floor. The pain was excruciating. Slowly she pushed herself up. She tasted blood and realized that she was biting the inside of her cheek in order to keep herself from screaming.

Liselle laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Meryl, please. You will exhaust yourself. Just wait until Lord Aragorn or Prince Legolas comes to help."

"Will you shut up and leave me alone!?" Meryl snapped. Liselle looked startled, but Meryl took no notice. "Just be quiet, alright? I don't need help." She shook her head. "I can help myself. I am no weakling."

Liselle fell silent. She bit her lip and watched as the stubborn teenager fought to her knees. Every inch of her body wanted to go and comfort Meryl; to tell her that help was on the way. But Meryl's words echoed through her head and she remained still.

Meryl clawed at her sheet, trying for a hold to aid herself in getting up. Her body shook with the effort she was putting forth. When she had managed to get both arms up to her elbows onto the mattress, she began to stand to her feet. Her body was now shaking like an aspen leaf on the breeze; each spasm would bring a fresh wave of pain. Her mind was screaming, but no sound would escape from her mouth, not if she had anything to do with it.

Finally, her quivering knees had straightened, and she was now standing over the bed. Meryl smiled. "I did it," she said weakly. "Ack, I'm tired."

And with that statement, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she flopped onto the bed. She was asleep before her head hit the mattress.

{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~{~}~

A/N: And so ends chapter Eleven. Be sure to review and tell me what you think! I love finding out how many people actually read this fic. It helps me write more and more chapters for you guys.

Now comes the moment you all have been waiting for... voting on the hedgehog names. Also, I will not reveal who had posted these names until the winning name has been chosen. Without further ado, the names are as follows in no particular order:

~ Haze

~ Spork

~ Muse

~ Cloud

~ Pickles

There you go! Leave me your vote in a review!

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo