Chapter Six
Foreyule, 1425
It had been a long four days. Pippin and Diamond were in Bree already and still no sign of Estella or Merry. Pippin kept telling Diamond not to worry, but she had always been able to read his thoughts from his expression, and she could tell that even he was starting to become a bit concerned. They were going to have to ride faster if we were to catch them.
"We really need to be going, Pippin," she said, shaking him awake. Diamond had always woken early, with the sun.
"Mmph," he groaned and put his pillow over his head.
"Pippin! If you don't get up this instant I swear I'll—"
"Swear you'll what?" he asked, finally getting out of bed. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her—hard.
"Now, I'll have none of that, Peregrin Took! Not until you're dressed and ready and we're on the road."
"But Dimesy!"
"Don't 'but Dimesy' me. Off you go!" she said cheerfully, shooing him into the washroom.
He came out five minutes later, looking a wreck.
"Go back in there and clean up properly, or there'll be no breakfast for you!" He trudged back in, muttering about how they weren't even married yet and she was already acting like a nagging wife. Diamond just hoped they'd be able to catch Estella and Merry before it was too late.
Two Weeks Later
"It's really alright, Merry," said Estella, "I'll be fine."
"Estella…" What was the matter with him? She wondered.
"You don't have to be a gentlehobbit. I don't want you sleeping in a tree just so you won't infringe on a lass's privacy. You'll fall and hurt yourself, and I'll blame myself for it. Besides," she added as an afterthought, "I'm not so terrible that you can't bear to be near me, am I?" She put on her most adorable sad face. "It's alright, Merry," she said drawing him into her and kissing him gently. "You are an honorable Hobbit and that's what I love about you. This won't change that."
That night Merry slept on the ground by her. After a while she crept into his arms and he sleepily buried his face in her hair. She smiled to herself.
"Silly lad," she murmured into the blankets, "my silly Merry."
One Week Later
Merry closed his eyes and tried to remember the great Elven city as it had been when last he was there. The image was already growing dim in his mind.
"This is Rivendell, Estella," he said.
"It's beautiful, Merry. But it's so empty. Not like the place you described to me where the council was held," her voice rang in his head. He shook it to clear his thoughts.
"It wasn't so empty before. It was full of Elves." Memories of their light voices that had once been clear seemed to fade readily.
"I've never met an Elf," she said. There were at least two Elves she'd be able to meet, he thought. He should have been comforted, but his heart felt chilled all the same.
"You'll meet at least one Elf when we get to Minas Tirith," he said. She nodded.
"We can't go any further this night," he said, as much as he did not relish the thought of staying in the abandoned Elven city. She nodded again, climbed from the pony's back, and went about preparing a mushroom stew for their supper. He just sat there and stared into space, trying to pull fading memories back from the abyss.
"There's some mushroom stew if you want any," she offered. He climbed down to eat and tried not to be overwhelmed by sadness, for Estella's sake.
"If we might see the inside..."
"No!" Merry exclaimed, surprised at the harshness of his own voice. She leapt back, sheer terror written across her face, for he had never spoken in such tones to her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. She crept over and he took her in his arms, lying back against a tree. They watched the last embers of the fire die away into darkness and Estella slept. He stayed awake however, staring into the gloom, and wondering what else this trip would bring.
Estella awoke to a sound like soft rain and cold dampness against her skin. She looked up to see white flurries whistling down to a ground already blanketed with snow.
"Merry?" she called. She was answered by the tired groan of one awoken from a restless sleep. He stood up and brushed himself off, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
"Merry, it's snowing. We can't stay out here. We've got to enter the city." He sighed and began picking up the campsite.
"Is that a yes?" she inquired, trying to sound happy, although inclement weather always dragged her spirits down and he didn't seem quite himself either. He didn't answer, only picking up the reins to his pony and walking down in the direction of the city.
"Why are you ignoring me, Merry?" she asked, walking in front of him to stop his progress.
"I'm not ignoring you, Estella, I'm thinking," he paused a moment, "see those mountains all around?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "If we stay in this valley, we're likely to be buried, if this keeps up. 'City's the only safe place."
They reached a tall and imposing door in the city wall. Probably at least three times even Merry's height, although it was hard to tell. Merry could just barely reach the handle. Estella held her breath as he reached up to the doorknob. To her relief, the door creaked open. A large, dark, and empty hall opened up before us.
"It's all right then," she said, her voice echoing into the hall. Merry gave her a silencing look, and they proceeded into the former House of Elrond.
"I think it's this way," said Merry. She nodded and followed him into the gloom.
"Here it is." He opened a door to a cobweb-filled room, which having a lower ceiling, was more to her liking.
"This was my room," he said, "You can have Pippin's old room, over there." He pointed his finger down the hall. Estella nodded again.
"I do love you, you know," she said, and kissed him.
"I know you do," he said, "and now that we're here, after breakfast, I'll show you around." She smiled wanly. I have to make him believe we'll be alright, she thought.
"We'll be fine, Merry." She smiled again. "Even if we're stuck here a while."
"As we probably will be," he said softly.
One Week Later, Afteryule, 1426
Pippin looked out at the Elven city, partially submerged in a enormous bank of snow. He was forcefully reminded of Isengard after Treebeard and the other Ents flooded it. But this wasn't Isengard; it was Rivendell. And this wasn't water; it was snow.
"I don't think they're here, Pippin," he heard Diamond say, "unless..." Her voice cracked and she bit her lip. He frowned and gazed into the deep snow-bank.
Suddenly he felt a wave of hope wash over him. Maybe they had made it into the city! Immediately he leapt off his pony and started gathering sticks for a shelter. If Merry and Estella were in there, waiting here would be the only way to find them.
"What are you doing, Pippin?" she asked. He didn't look up; he was too busy formulating his plan.
"Building a shelter," he said in reply.
"We're not staying here!" she exclaimed, though it seemed like more of a question to Pippin.
"What else can we do, Diamond?" She didn't say anything. She merely climbed off her pony and started to unpack its saddle bag.
"There," he said, "that should hold." He looked at his creation. It was a bit small and lopsided, but they would fit and we would stay dry if it snowed again in the night. Diamond beamed at him.
"It's not much, but it will have to do." She nodded, still smiling. Then she pounced on him like that cat in the barn adjacent to the Smials, succeeding in knocking me over into an icy carpet of snow.
"I have you, Mister Took," she said.
"You've always had me, Diamond," he said with a grin. I love that lass so much, he said to himself. She seems like the only one who knows how to have any fun—although Merry would probably, no, definitely, disagree with that assessment, he thought. He kissed her then, and they retreated to his make-shift shelter for the night.
"It looks like the blizzard's letting up, Merry," said Estella.
"Uh, huh," he replied absentmindedly.
"Are you listening to me?" Please, Estella, I'm not in the mood, he wanted to say.
"Yes," he said instead. But she was starting to get on his nerves.
"What did I just say?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"Something about snow?" Merry offered, hoping that'd get her off his case. She groaned in a playfully exasperated way and cuffed him on the shoulder.
"If you need me I'll be making breakfast!" she called over her shoulder as she left the room. He sighed; finally some peace.
It wasn't that he didn't love Estella; he did. It was just that being cooped up with someone in close quarters for days on end does things to you. Especially in a place like this, he thought. He shifted positions in the chair and then returned to his troubled thoughts.
Three days later
"It's clear enough to venture out, don't you think, Merry?" asked Estella, hopefully. Living in this abandoned city had really started to grate on her nerves by now as well.
"Give me five minutes," he said, getting up and leaving the room, presumably to gather their things.
Five minutes later, they were prying the great door open again. Merry held her hand in his as they walked out into the midday sun. The bright sun hurt her eyes and she blinked and shaded her face with her hand.
"It was darker in there than it seemed," she remarked. He didn't seem to even hear her. "Merry?" she said again.
"Pippin!" he cried jubilantly, running up the steep slope, splattering mud from the half melted snow. Estella's feet compelled her to do the same, though she could not see anyone over the ridge yet.
"Diamond!" she shouted, hailing her friend, as Estella saw her and Pippin at the top of the hill. She ran over to her and hugged her tightly, nearly knocking her over in the process, seeing over her shoulder that Merry and Pippin were doing the same.
After a long moment, the hobbits broke from our respective embraces.
"What are you doing here?" asked Merry incredulously.
"I could ask the same of you," Pippin remarked dryly.
"I did leave a note," he said. Reflecting back upon it, Estella felt a little bit guilty for leaving without telling anyone, even with the note.
"Tut, tut," said Pippin, sounding remarkably like his mother. They both burst out laughing, and Diamond and Estella giggled along with them.
"So," Estella asked, "now that you're here, are you going to come with us to see Rohan and Gondor and such?"
"Don't be ridiculous," he said, in a mock-solemn voice, "we're going home right now!" And with that, they all burst out laughing again.