A/N: Well, this is my first chapter of the New Year! WOOT! -Tosses confetti around the room and dances around the computer- ^^ Also, I have decided to post this chapter in honor of Elijah Wood, whose birthday is today... although the chapter has nothing to do with him or Frodo... -shrugs- Oh well...

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Chapter Fourteen: A Trip down Memory Lane

The rider stopped and dismounted, along with Elrohir and Elladan. In comparison to them, he only stood about three feet high. Immediately the rider spotted Aragorn in the crowd and ordered them, in the name of the King, to move aside, for he had a message. The Elves moved out of his way as he quickly ran to him in large bare feet.

When he arrived, he immediately bowed. "My Lord, Aragorn, I have a message for you."

"Save the formalities for later!" roared Gimli with a large smile. "How have you been, Pippin?"

"You guys can catch up with each other later also," Meryl said to Gimli. "Will you introduce me, please?"

The hobbit, identified as Pippin Took, looked up at Legolas with a confused expression. "Legolas, either that foot that you are holding talked, or your voice has changed and is now much higher pitched."

The Prince of Mirkwood laughed, as did Aragorn and Gimli. "Nay, my voice has not changed, nor did this foot speak. Instead, the foot is attached to a person who has been waiting anxiously to meet you."

Pippin's face brightened a bit. "Really? To meet me?"

Elladan and Elrohir strode up to the small group. They walked side-by side, their steps matching perfectly with each other. Elrohir grinned when he spotted Meryl.

"Really now, my lady, what are you doing on top of somebody's shoulders?" he said.

"And on Prince Legolas's at that," added Elladan with a wide smile.

"Don't call me lady!" retorted Meryl.

"Now I am even more confused," announced the hobbit.

"Pippin, I would like you to meet Meryl," said Aragorn. "She is staying with the Elves in Rivendell for the time being."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Pippin said to the girl's foot. He then peered up past Legolas's head. "Even thought it is hard to see your face."

"It's nice to meet you too, Pippin." Meryl grinned. "Okay guys, now it's time to get me down."

"But you just got up there!" exclaimed Gimli.

"Yeah," she replied. "So I could see Pippin coming! Now he's here. Besides, this time you have Elrohir and Elladan to help you get me down. Come on, what do you say, guys?" She gave them a pleading look. "I can't do this by myself, otherwise I'd be on the ground right now."

The others glanced at each other for a moment, communicating silently with their eyes. Since Meryl couldn't see their eyes well enough, she didn't know what they were communicating. They finished, and Aragorn said, "All right, we'll help, but next time you will have to get down by yourself. Remember this, we are helping you only because you are injured and it is about time to hold your end of the deal."

"And to save Legolas from any more humiliation," Elladan added with a gleeful twinkle in his eye.

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Meryl sat in her bed with crossed arms, grumbling. She had gotten down from Legolas's shoulders, (which had consisted mainly of everybody standing behind Legolas and forming a net with their arms. Meryl then fell back into their hands. In her thinking, it was quite fun!). They then had her immediately whisked back to her room. They were nice enough to tuck her in and all (if you call tucking in dropping her onto the bed, and pulling the blankets to cover her legs), but then they left, saying that they had to hear Pippin's message. Now she sat alone in her room, with only Dae who was laying at the foot of her bed for company, and it wasn't even lunchtime!

So, in order to prevent herself from going insane from boredom, there was only one thing to do, and that was singing a Christmas carol.

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer, walkin' home from our house, Christmas Eve. You can say there's no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe," she sang out loud, not caring who heard. "She'd been drinking too much egg nog, and we'd begged her not to go. But she forgot her medication, and she staggered out the door into the snow."

She paused for a deep breath before continuing, "When they found her Christmas morning, at the scene of the attack. She had hoof prints on her forehead, and incriminating claws marks on her back. Grandma go run over by a reindeer, walkin' home from our house Christmas Eve. You can say there's no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe--"

"What in all of Middle-Earth are you singing?" came a voice from the doorway. Meryl glanced over and there stood Gandalf, dressed in his brilliant white robes and with his arms crossed. His staff was gripped in his right hand. He looked very weary. At her grin, he added hastily, "No, wait. I need not know."

"Come on Gandalf, I was bored. I've been stuck in this bed for too long."

The Istari nodded. "Ah, yes. That is right. I heard that you had an accident."

Meryl raised her eyebrows. "You 'heard?' Where have you been?" She stopped to think before saying. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you since our talk at my banquet."

"I have just returned from a journey out of Rivendell--" said the old man.

"Why did you leave?" interrupted Meryl. "And why didn't you tell me?

"--And it seems as if I am not the only one who has returned from a long excursion."

"You mean Pippin?" the teenage girl asked, forgetting her interruption.

Gandalf nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind himself. He went over to a chair and sat down, laying his staff across his lap. "It is amazing how much that young hobbit has grown since I first met him," he said.

"How so?"

"Back in the Shire, he was a known troublemaker, along with Merry Brandybuck. He never knew the bad side of things outside of his homeland. Now, he has fought in a war and he sometimes lives in an entirely different place. He has matured greatly and although he is a knight of Gondor now, he still enjoys a prank or two sometimes."

Meryl smiled. "Sounds a little like me," she said. "Except for the fact that I'm fighting an entirely different war."

"And what war would that be?" the Istari inquired.

"The war inside myself. I'm fighting so many things inside. Especially my memories..." her voice trailed off, with a trace of sadness quavering in it. "I've been trying to forget, but I can't. Everything sooner or later reminds me of home." Tears streamed down her face. "I don't want to forget," she said with a sob, "but I can't tell the others about my past either. I just can't." She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking silently with her tears.

Gandalf stood up, and went to Meryl's bed. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have experienced a very difficult part of your life so far, Meryl, and you have faced much," he said quietly. "But you shouldn't reminisce into your past, but instead peer ahead to your future."

Meryl looked up at him from her hands. Her green eyes were bright with tears. She managed a weak smile. "You would make a really great grandpa, Gandalf, you know that?"

The wizard shook his head. "I think that I would prefer not to be a grandfather. I do not like the idea of having a wife being murdered by a..." He paused for some thought. "Reindeer? Is that what you called it?"

The teenage girl burst out laughing.

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Gandalf left a while later, leaving Meryl alone once again. After a little while, she got bored again. One could only count the beams on the ceiling for so long. Before she resumed singing, however, Liselle appeared with her lunch. Although the girl was already hungry, one glance at the tray only made Meryl even more famished. On it was a bowl of stew. Meryl couldn't tell if it was beef or another type of meat. Next to it was a large pile of mashed potatoes. The required silverware was also on the tray.

"I made sure that you have a knife this time," Liselle said as she set the tray in Meryl's lap. "I am still sure that I had given you a knife last time."

Meryl smiled at the Elf. "Thank you, Liselle. I don't know where I'd be without you."

Liselle's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Now, miss, I am simply a handmaiden. It's my duty."

"Duty schmuty," Meryl said. "You're a great friend. And what did I tell you about calling me miss?"

"I apologize, Meryl. I forgot."

Meryl grabbed a spoon and dug in. "That's okay."

The Elf blinked and looked confused. She then shook her head with a smile. "You never cease to amaze me, Meryl."

"That's what everybody says about me," the girl replied with a full mouth.

"It is not polite to speak with a full mouth," Liselle scolded as Meryl swallowed her bite. "Chew your food first and swallow before talking."

"Yes ma'am," the teenage girl retorted sarcastically. "I'll try to remember that."

"See that you do." Liselle turned and went towards the door. "I'll be back in a little while to collect your dishes. After you eat, you are supposed to rest."

"Hey, not my problem," Meryl replied as she took another bite of stew.

"I shall see you in a little while then." Liselle left the room, closing the door behind herself.

"You do that," Meryl said to herself. She quickly finished her meal and set the dishes on her bedside table. She knew that she was supposed to rest, but a restless feeling in her mind told her not to. It said to her that she didn't need rest, she wanted to leave these confining quarters and explore.

{I can't listen to it,} Meryl said. {As much as I don't like this, I have to stay here. I don't want to risk the wrath of both Aragorn and Legolas.}

She glanced around her room, searching for something to divert her attention. Even though she had to stay in her room, she didn't have to go to sleep. Her eyes fell upon her purse. It hung on a hook across the room, calling to her to pick it up and rummage through it.

"Oh, why not?" she grumbled.

Painfully, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Using the furniture in her room for support, she made her way across the room and back, purse in hand. She crawled back into bed, pulling the covers over her legs. She dumped the contents of her purse onto her bed, and began spreading the pile of stuff out. The first thing she noticed that she had was a small can of pepper spray. She picked it up and studied it, trying to remember why she had it in her purse in the first place.

"That's right, I put it in there because my mom made me," she remembered. "She was so scared that somebody was going to kidnap me while I was out."

She set the can aside and spotted a tube of Chapstick. With an excited grin, she opened it and slathered some of it onto her lips. Who knows how long she had needed that? Then she realized that she had better save it for when she really needed it. She didn't think that they had ever heard of lip balm in Middle Earth. She capped it and put it next to the pepper spray. She then saw a small pad of paper, a black permanent marker and some pens. Her face lit up.

"Now I can doodle!" she said happily.

She hid the paper and pens underneath her pillow, alongside the table knife that she had hidden before. A Ziploc bag then caught her eye. She picked it up and opened. The stench of dog biscuits rose up from the bag. She grinned and glanced over at Dae, who was sleeping in front of the fireplace in her room.

"Dae," she called. The dog opened his eyes and lifted his head. "Treat!" She waved the bag invitingly in the air.

Dae's ears pricked and he hurriedly got to his feet. Barking, he leaped over to Meryl's bed. He sat, whining and shaking. Meryl knew that he hadn't had a treat in a long time. She told him that he was a good boy, and gave him only half of a biscuit. She needed to save those too.

"Sorry boy," she said when he gave her a pleading look. "I can't. Go lie down."

Dae sadly obeyed and put his head on his front paws. He closed his eyes and appeared to go to sleep. Meryl smiled and continued going through her belongings. She put the Ziploc bag of dog biscuits on her bedside table, out of Dae's reach. She then found a half-eaten roll of mint-flavored Mentos. She ate one, and then hid the rest. She then found twelve individually wrapped Creme Savers (raspberry flavored, her favorite kind) scattered among her things. As an ironic twist, she found her travel toothbrush. She kept one in her purse because she always forgot to bring a toothbrush whenever her family went on vacation. The only thing was, she didn't have any toothpaste.

"Guess I'll have to live with rotted teeth," she said with a slight shrug.

She then found one of her largest objects and by far, one of her most favorites: a pair of sunglasses. "All right!" she cheered. "Now I won't go blind!"

She set the sunglasses aside and glanced into her lap. Now she had only a few things left in her lap: her wallet, many bobby pins, and her harmonica. She picked up her harmonica, and felt its coolness. Brain had given the harmonica to her as a gift, and had taught her how to play it. He had taught her a few songs, some titles beings "Greensleeves", "Taps", "Kumbaya", and a few blues songs. He had never told her the titles of those songs. She set her harmonica aside and picked her wallet up. She opened it, and her eyes fell upon a picture that had been taken a year ago. It was of Brian and herself, against an autumn background. She was riding piggyback on him, with her chin on top of his head. Both of them grinned into the camera, eyes sparkling. A curl of Brian's hair had spilled onto his forehead. Meryl remembered that day well. She, Brian, and a few of their friends had decided to go hiking at a park about a half hour away from the town that they had lived in.

A tear slipped down Meryl's cheek as she gazed upon the smiling faces. They were so happy then, and now look at her, only a year later. She quickly flipped the picture over, and drew a sharp intake of breath at the next picture. It was of her brother Andrew. It was his senior picture, taken two years before. Another tear slid down her cheek. She glanced over at the last picture and couldn't hold her tears back anymore. It was of the whole family. Her parents, Andrew, Dae, and herself. All had wide smiles, but Andrew's eyes had a pleading look that asked the camera to hurry up and take the picture.

She quickly closed her wallet, not bothering to see what else was inside, and threw it back into her purse along with everything else except for her harmonica and her can of pepper spray. She hid the can away and then picked up her harmonica. She blew into it, blowing a few notes to warm up, and then started to play, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She began to play one of the blues songs that Brian had taught her, filling her room with the sad music.

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Aww... a sad ending for the chapter, isn't it? Don't worry, there are better chapters yet to come... Besides, you got to read Meryl singing Christmas carols! Well, I know that I said that I would be announcing the winner for the hedgehog name in this chapter, but I was kind of lazy and decided not to. Here are some chocolate chip cyber-cookies to console the few who are disappointed -hands out the cookies-

I have been informed by my friend RavensDestiny that she has lost her love for Kurama and that I am supposed to auction off her Kurama dolly to the highest bidder. FAT CHANCE!!! KURAMA IS MINE NOW, RAVEN!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! -hides the Kurama dolly along with her Hiei dolly and Lij, her teddy bear- NOW YOU CAN NEVER TRY AND TAKE MY LIJ AND YOUR KURAMA AGAIN!

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo